GIFT  OF 
The  Argonaut 


PUBLIC    SPEAKING 


FOR 


HIGH    SCHOOLS 


BY 

DWIGHT   EVERETT   WATKINS,  A.M. 

)v 

PROFESSOR  OF  PUBLIC  SPEAKING  AND  INSTRUCTOR   IN  ENGLISH    LITERATURE 

KNOX   COLLEGE  ;    FORMERLY   INSTRUCTOR   IN  PUBLIC  SPEAKING 

AKRON,   OHIO,  HIGH   SCHOOL  ;    KNOX   EXCHANGE 

PROFESSOR  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 

1912-13 


NEW  YORK  .:•  CINCINNATI  •:•  CHICAGO 

AMERICAN     BOOK    COMPANY 


89S" 


COPYRIGHT,  1913,  BY 
DWIGHT  EVERETT  WATKINS 

COPYRIGHT,  1913,  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN 


WATKINS,   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 
W.  P.  I 


PREFACE 

WITH  the  increasing  demand  for  Public  Speaking  work 
in  High  Schools,  there  has  come  the  need  for  a  High 
School  book  on  the  subject.  Texts  hitherto  published 
have  been  too  extensive  and  technical,  or  too  vague ;  or, 
finally,  too  meager,  consisting  merely  of  a  collection  of 
pieces  to  be  recited  in  order  by  the  student.  This  little 
book,  it  is  hoped,  will  have  none  of  these  faults.  The 
philosophy  of  expression  has  been  introduced  sparingly, 
and  not  all  of  the  fine  points  of  technique  have  been  cov- 
ered. Enough  practical  directions  have  been  given,  how- 
ever, to  set  the  pupil  well  on  his  way  to  success  as  an 
actual  speaker,  and  to  prepare  him  to  accept  the  instruction 
now  being  offered  in  the  subject  at  our  best  colleges  and 
universities. 

In  three  respects,  it  is  believed,  the  book  will  mark  some- 
what of  an  advance.  First,  the  subjects  of  Pitch,  Time, 
Action,  etc.,  are  not  taken  up  and  exhausted  at  one  time. 
Lessons  in  Action  are  introduced  at  intervals  throughout 
the  work.  This  follows  the  correct  evolution  of  the  stu- 
dent of  Public  Speaking,  and  has  the  added  advantage  of 
sustaining  interest.  Second,  the  many  illustrations,  aside 
from  their  value  in  catching  and  holding  the  attention  of 
the  student,  will  enable  him  to  work  alone  before  his  mir- 
ror in  his  attempts  to  master  the  typical  gestures,  some- 
thing that  has  not  been  possible  where  the  teacher  has  had 
to  be  depended  upon  for  a  model.  Third,  the  numerous 
Cautions  inserted  throughout  the  book  will  aid  materially 

3 


4  PREFACE 

in  guarding  against  •.ijicprr.ect  action  and  vocalization. 
Faults  are  often  due  to  inaccurate  observation,  and  need 
only  to  be  pointed  out  to  be  corrected. 

In  the  exercises  at  the  close  of  the  several  lessons  will  be 
found  a  modest,  but,  it  is  believed,  an  adequate  system  of 
vocal  and  physical  culture.  Not  all  the  exercises  will 
appeal  to  all  teachers,  but  the  use  of  any  prudent  selection 
from  them  ought  to  result  in  a  marked  improvement  in 
the  work  of  the  class. 

On  account  of  the  numerous  illustrations,  it  may  at  first 
appear  that  the  subject  of  Action  has  been  over-empha- 
sized. On  closer  examination,  however,  this  will  probably 
not  be  found  the  case,  although  the  persuasive  power  of 
the  delivery  that  appeals  to  the  eye  is  often  underesti- 
mated. Those  teachers  who  do  not  believe  in  teach- 
ing Action  may,  of  course,  omit  all  lessons  dealing  with 
the  subject.  The  hints  appropriated  by  the  student  from 
the  illustrations  will  doubtless  not  intrude  themselves 
obnoxiously. 

No  accompanying  book  of  selections  is  needed,  as  plenty 
of  material  for  practice  will  be  found  within  the  text  itself ; 
and  in  accordance  with  the  passing  of  what  is  termed  the 
"old  style"  elocution,  it  will  be  found  that  the  illustrative 
selections  have  been  taken,  for  the  most  part,  from  strictly 
oratorical  sources,  and  an  effort  has  been  made  to  admit 
only  the  best  models. 


DWIGHT    E.   WATKINS. 


KNOX  COLLEGE, 
GALESBURG,  ILL. 


CONTENTS 

LESSON  PAGE 

I.     How  TO  STAND .        .  7 

II.     How  TO  BREATHE 10 

III.  How  TO  GET  A  PLEASING  VOICE          ....  15 

IV.  PRONUNCIATION  OF  SINGLE  WORDS      ....  18 
V.  PRONUNCIATION  OF  SINGLE  WORDS  (Continued]          .  23 

VI.     PRONUNCIATION  IN  SENTENCES 27  _^» 

VII.     EMPHASIS ""32 

VIII.  EMPHASIS  (Continued)     .......  36 

IX.     EMPHASIS  (Continued) -39 

X.  FIRST  STEPS  IN  ACTUAL  DELIVERY      ....  41 

XL     PAUSING 43 

XII.     PITCH.     DEGREE  OF  PITCH 48 

XIII.  RATE 52 

XIV.  PAUSING  (Continued) .55 

XV.     PAUSING  (Continued) 58 

XVI.  BEGINNINGS  OF  GESTURE.     POINTING  ....  62 

XVII.     FORCE.     How  TO  APPLY  IT 67 

XVIII.  FORCE.     THE  AMOUNT  TO  APPLY         ....  71 

XIX.  GESTURE.     THE  OPEN  HAND         .        .        .  75 

XX.  MORE  SUGGESTIONS  ABOUT  ACTUAL  SPEAKING    .        .  80 

XXI.     PITCH.     THE  STEP 83 

XXII.     PITCH.     THE  SLIDE 89 

XXIII.  FORCE.     STRESS 92 

XXIV.  FORCE.     STRESS  (Continued) _  95 L..— 

XXV.  GESTURE.     THE  CLENCHED  HAND         ....  98 

XXVI.     THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  POSITION 101 

XXVII.     PITCH.     THE  SLIDE  (Continued) 107    \ 

XXVIII.     PITCH.     THE  SLIDE  (Concluded] 11CL-X 

XXIX.     PLANES  OF  GESTURE 112 

XXX.     SPEECH  MELODY '    .  ll5^~-\ 

XXXI.     FAULTS  IN  SPEECH  MELODY 123 

XXXII.  SOURCES  OF  POWER  IN  SPEECH  MELODY     .        .        .  130x/" 

XXXIII.  GESTURE.     THE  DRAMATIC  HANDS       .         .         .         .  133.-—, 

XXXIV.  QUANTITY 139 

XXXV.     TONE  COLOR 143 

XXXVI.     TONE  COLOR  (Continued) 146 

XXXVII.     GATHERING  UP  THE  ENDS 149 

XXXVIII.     STYLES  OF  SPEAKING 152 

XXXIX.  GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  RECITING         .         .         .  157 

XL.  GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON   STAGE  DEPORTMENT  160 


APPENDIX 


165 


1-  Hi.  i.    The  Ward  Statue  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher  at  Brooklyn,  showing 

the  orator  in  a  good  speaking  position. 
From  Lorado  Taft's  American  Sculpture^  by  permission. 


PUBLIC   SPEAKING 


LESSON    I 

HOW   TO   STAND 

ONE  of  the  first  questions  to  confront  a  student  begin- 
ning his  study  of  delivery  in  Public  Speaking  is  How  to  stand 
on  the  platform.  This  is  a  very  simple  matter,  but  a  failure 
to  master  it  will  always  handicap  the  speaker's  power. 

By  reference  to  Figure  i  we  may  discover  the  position 
generally  used  by  the  best  speakers  during  the  greater 
part  of  their  work.  In  this  position  it  will  be  noticed  that 
the  left  foot  is  a  trifle,  say  three  to  six  inches,  in  advance 
of  the  right,  and  that  a  line  drawn  through  it  from  toe  to 
heel  would  pass  through  the  heel  of  the  right  foot.  The 
feet  are  not  parellel,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  are  they  set 
at  right  angles,  but  assume  a  position  between  the  two  and 
more  nearly  approaching  the  right  angle.  There  is,  of 
course,  a  counterpart  to  this  position,  in  which  the  right 
foot  is  forward  and  a  line  drawn  through  it  from  toe  to 
heel  would  pass  through  the  heel  of  the  left  foot.  The 
angle  between  the  feet  is,  as  before,  just  a  little  less  than 
a  right  angle.  These  positions,  together  with  the  move- 
ments made  in  changing  from  one  to  the  other,  forward 
and  backward,  varying  the  angle  between  the  feet  to  a 
slight  extent  in  turning  from  side  to  side  in  order  to  cover 
the  whole  audience,  will  be  enough  for  most  public  ap- 
pearances. 

CAUTION  No.  i.  —  In  changing  from  one  of  these  posi- 
tions to  the  other,  be  careful  to  bring  the  foot  directly  for- 

7 


HOW   TO   STAND 


ward  or  directly  backward.     Do  not  let  the  foot  move  in  a 
semicircle  around  the  stationary  heel. 

CAUTION  No.  2.  —  In  holding  either  position,  do  not  let 
the  front  knee  be  bent,  with  nearly  all  the  weight  on  the 
back  foot.  The  weight  should  rest  about  evenly  on  both 


FIG.  2.    A  bad  position,  front  knee 
bent. 


FIG.  3.  Changing  posi- 
tion, bringing  the  left 
foot  forward. 


(See 


feet,  and  the  front   knee  should  be  kept  straight. 
Fig.  2.) 

CAUTION  No.  3. — In  changing  from  one  position  to  the 
other,  do  not  move  the  whole  limb  stiffly,  but  bend  the  knee 
and  take  a  step,  just  as  in  walking.  On  a  carpet,  or  rug, 
the  toe  may  even  be  allowed  to  slide  to  position.  (See 
Fig.  3-) 


HOW   TO    STAND  9 

CAUTION  No.  4.  —  Be  careful  not  to  step  too  far  in  chang- 
ing. If  you  do,  the  line  passing  through  the  front  foot  from 
toe  to  heel  will  pass  through  the  instep  of  the  back  foot  in- 
stead of  the  heel.  Keep  it  through  the  heel. 

CAUTION  No.  5. — Unless  you  turn  far  to  one  side  for  a 
short  time  to  cover  a  corner  of  the  audience,  it  is  well  not 
to  allow  either  foot  at  any  time  to  point  straight  forward 
toward  the  middle  of  the  audience. 

CAUTION  No.  6.  —  Move  only  one  foot  in  changing  from 
one  position  to  the  other. 

EXERCISES 

1 .  Take  the  position  shown  in  Figure  I  and  then  change,  observing 
the  method  shown  in  Figure  3.     Change  back. 

2.  Take  the  position  shown  in  Figure  I  and  then  change,  going  for- 
ward, as  in  Ex.  i.     Now,  still  going  forward,  assume  the  original  posi- 
tion.    Repeat,  going  backward. 

3.  Walk   several   steps   forward,  assuming  with  each  step  one   of 
the  positions.     Walk  backward,  still  keeping  the  positions.     This  may 
be  done  to  a  count  of  i,  2,  3,  4,  etc.,  given  very  slowly. 

NOTE.  —  In  all  these  exercises  it  is  well  to  look  at  the  feet  for  the  first 
few  times.  After  that,  the  student  should  keep  his  eyes  to  the  front  and 
get  the  position  by  merely  feeling  that  he  has  it  right.  It  is  well  to 
practice  on  a  seam  in  the  carpet  or  on  a  narrow  board  in  the  floor,  keep- 
ing each  foot  on  its  own  side  of  the  seam  or  board. 


LESSON    II 


HOW  TO  BREATHE 

MOST  students  think  they  already  know  how  to  breathe. 
And  they  do,  so  far  as  is  necessary  to  support  life  and 
engage  in  ordinary  conversation.  But  in  Public  Speaking, 

where  a  large  room 
must  be  filled  with 
sound,  and  where 
speaking  must  be 
kept  up  for  some 
time,  a  very  much 
stronger  and  easier 
kind  of  breathing 
must  be  used.  To 
explain  this  stronger 
and  easier  kind  of 
breathing,  it  is  nec- 
essary that  we  know 
something  of  the 
lungs  and  the  mus- 
cles about  them 
which  make  us  able 

FIG.  4.    The  lungs. 

to  breathe. 

From  Figure  4,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  larger  part  of 
each  lung  is  at  the  bottom  and  not  at  the  top,  and  that  it 
is  shaped  somewhat  like  a  bellows.  Now,  in  a  bellows, 
we  can  get  a  much  stronger  stream  of  air  by  pressing 
away  out  at  the  larger  end,  where  the  handles  are,  than  by. 

10 


HOW    TO    BREATHE 


II 


squeezing  the  bellows  near  the  nose.  So  it  is  with  the 
lungs.  We  can  get  a  much  stronger  stream  of  breath  by 
pressing  on  them  down  at  the  larger  end,  and  nature  has 
provided  a  way  to  do  this,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  next 
paragraph. 

Across  the  body,  between  the  chest  and  abdomen,  is 
stretched  a  strong  partition,  called  the  diaphragm,  which  is 
also  a  powerful  muscle.  This 
muscle  stands  in  the  body  like 
a  large  bowl  upside  down,  with 
what  is  ordinarily  the  bottom  of 
the  bowl  projecting  up  into 
the  chest.  It  does  not  stretch 
straight  across  the  body,  but  is 
a  little  higher  in  front  than  at 
the  back.  Now,  when  we  take 
a  breath,  this  muscle  contracts 
and  the  bowl  becomes  more 
shallow.  Instead  of  looking  like 
a  bowl,  the  muscle  now  looks 
more  like  a  platter.  (See  Fig. 
5.)  By  looking  at  Figure  6,  we 
see  that  there  is  now  more  room 
above  the  diaphragm  than  there 
was  before,  and  realize  that  the 
breath  we  took  was  what  flowed 
in  to  fill  up  this  vacant  space. 

We  shall  also  notice  that  there  is  less  room  below  than 
there  was,  and  so  something  has  had  to  give,  or  stretch. 
This  was  the  wall  of  the  abdomen,  —  the  waist  has  increased 
in  size.  Of  course,  along  with  this  action  of  the  diaphragm, 
goes  the  more  commonly  observed  expansion  of  the  chest, 
the  lower  ribs  aiding  in  increasing  the  size  of  the  waist. 
(See  Fig.  7.) 


FiG.  5.  The  diaphragm,  the  dotted 
lines  showing  its  position  after  tak- 
ing in  breath. 


12 


HOW    TO    BREATHE 


In  letting  the  air  out  of  the  lungs  the  reverse  of  the 
action  just  described  takes  place.  The  diaphragm  relaxes 
and  lets  the  breath  out.  Its  elasticity  brings  it  back  to 
position.  Here,  too,  as  in  taking  a  breath,  there  is  a 
general  action  of  the  chest,  in  this  case  the  chest  becoming 
smaller  and  the  lower  ribs,  especially,  supplementing  the 


B. 


FlG.  6.    General  position  of  the  body  before  and  after  taking  in  breath. 

action  of  the  diaphragm  by  gradually  floating  back,  on 
account  of  the  relaxation  of  the  muscles  about  them,  to 
their  original  position. 

There  is  a  way,  however,  of  forcing  the  air  out  of  the 
lungs.  This  is  by  the  use  of  the  strong  muscles  that  form 
the  wall  of  the  waist  and  abdomen.  If  you  will  give  the 
sound  of  the  letter  h  very  forcibly,  you  can  feel  the  walls 
of  the  waist  and  abdomen  strike  inward. 

This,  then,  is  the  stronger  and  easier  kind  of  breathing. 
We  increase  in  size  around  the  zvaist  when  we  take  breath, 
and  we  decrease  in  size  about  the  waist  wlien  we  force  tJie 
breath  out.  We  do  not  raise  the  shoulders. 


HOW    TO    BREATHE 


CAUTION.  — Keep  the  chest  well  up  during  both  the  process 
of  taking  breath  and  letting  it  out,  but  do  not  throw  back 
the  shoulders. 

EXERCISES 

4.  Standing  erect,  place  the  hands  upon  the  waist,  and  with  fingers 
forward   and   pointing   down.      Without   raising   the   shoulders,   take 
a  breath   slowly   through    the   nose. 

Feel  yourself  increase  in  size  about 
the  waist  as  you  do  this.  Now  let 
the  air  out  slowly,  also  through  the 
nose.  Feel  yourself  decrease  in  size 
as  you  let  the  air  out.  Repeat  three 
times. 

5.  Do  the  same  as  in  Ex.  4,  but 
hold  the  air  until  you  count  mentally 
up  to  ten,  then  let  the  air  out  all  at 
once.     Look  for  the  action  about  the 
waist. 

6.  Placing    the   hands    upon   the 
waist,  fingers  forward  and   pointing 
down,  take  a  breath  slowly  through 
an  opening  between  the  lips  about 
the  size  of  a  lead  pencil.     After  you 
have  taken   a  full   breath,  open  the 
mouth  and  let  the  air  out  all  at  once. 
Do  not  raise  the  shoulders.     If  they 
come  down  when  you  let  the  air  out, 
you   must   have   raised   them.     Feel 

yourself  increase  in  size  about  the  waist  as  you  take  breath, 
three  times. 


FIG. 


The   action  of  the   ribs  in 
taking  breath. 

Repeat 


7.  Taking  the  same  position  as  in  Ex.  6,  take  a  full  breath  slowly 
through  the  nose.     Through  a  small  opening  between  the  lips  force 
out  the  air  in  little  jets.     Be  sure  you  feel  a  distinct  stroke  about  the 
waist.     Repeat  three  times. 

8.  Give  the  sound  of  h  vigorously  several  times.     Do  not  strike 
down  with  the  upper  part  of  the  chest.     Obtain  definite  waist  strokes 
as  in  Ex.  7. 


14  HOW   TO    BREATHE 

9.  Through  slightly  opened  lips  take  in  a  full  breath  very  quickly, 
without  changing  the  position  of  the  lips,  then  let  the  air  out  as  slowly 
as  possible.  Repeat  three  times. 

The  following  cautions  taken  from  Dr.  Mills's  Voice 
Production  should  be  carefully  observed  :  — 

1 .  Never  continue  any  exercise  when  there  is  a  sense  of  discomfort 
of  any  kind  whatever.     Such  usually  indicates  that  it  is  being  carried 
out  too  vigorously. 

2.  Increase  the  depths  of  the  inspirations  daily,  but  not  very  rap- 
idly. 

3.  The   inspirations   and   expirations   should   be  carried   out  very 
slowly  at  first. 

4.  Cease  the  exercise  before  any  sense  of  fatigue  is  experienced. 
Fatigue  is  nature's  warning  and  should  be  always  obeyed.     It  indicates 
that  the  waste  products  which  result  from  the  use  of  the  muscles  are 
accumulating  and  becoming  harmful. 

It  might  be  added  that  dizziness  is  often  experienced 
where  the  exercises  are  carried  on  too  vigorously  or  for 
too  long  a  time.  Stop  at  once,  in  this  case. 


LESSON    III 
HOW  TO   GET   A  PLEASING  VOICE 

AFTER  the  speaker  is  able  to  take  a  good  position  on 
the  platform,  and  to  breathe  correctly,  attention  must  be 
given  to  his  voice,  for  speaking  is  the  next  step. 

Beauty  of  voice  depends,  first  of  all,  on  getting  clear 
tones.  There  must  be  no  huskiness.  The  person  must 
not  seem  to  talk  through  his  teeth,  or  through  his  nose. 
The  tones,  too,  must  seem  to  have  a  ring  to  them. 

If  the  tones  are  husky,  there  is  generally  something 
wrong  with  the  breathing.  Huskiness  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  there  is  too  much  breath  escaping.  Practice  the  ex- 
ercises in  Lesson  II  until  you  are  sure  you  breathe  cor- 
rectly, and  then,  keeping  the  same  style  of  breathing, 
practice  the  vocal  exercises  at  the  end  of  this  lesson. 
Listen  very,  very  closely  to  your  tones  to  detect  any  sound 
of  breath  escaping.  Do  not  be  satisfied  until  you  have  an 
absolutely  clear  tone.  Do  not  strive  for  loudness  just  yet, 
but  get  clearness  first.  It  may  take  a  month  or  so,  but 
stick  to  it,  reviewing  the  exercises  of  this  lesson  every  day 
as  you  go  on  with  your  other  work. 

If  the  tones  come  through  the  teeth,  open  the  mouth 
^  wide  and  practice  on  getting  open  tones.  If  the  tones  are 
nasal,  keep  the  chin  well  up  and  think  of  throwing  the 
tone  out  through  the  mouth. 

After  you  have  clear  tones,  you  may  start  to  strengthen 
them.  Keeping  the  same  clear  quality,  gradually  put 
more  force  behind  the  tone  until  you  can  make  a  large 

15 


i6 


HOW    TO    GET   A   PLEASING   VOICE 


room  fairly  resound  with  it.  Don't  try  to  progress  too 
fast  in  getting  strength,  and  stop  if  your  throat  tickles 
the  least  bit  and  you  are  inclined  to  cough.  Do  not  prac- 
tice long  at  a  time.  Five  or  ten  minutes  twice  daily  will 
be  enough  at  first.  If  possible,  let  one  of  these  periods  of 
practice  come  in  the  morning,  for  you  will  find  your  voice 
better  then. 

CAUTION.  —  Be  careful  in  all  vocal  practice  to  secure  a 
perfectly  relaxed  throat.  If  there  is  constriction,  try  utter- 
ing the  syllable  ah  with  a  sort  of  sighing  sound.  Start  the 
exercise  with  the  chords  entirely  separated  and  gradually 
approximate  them  until  vocalization  results. 

EXERCISES 

10.  Give,  with  the  singing  voice,  on  different  pitches,  the  sounds  of  /, 
;;z,  and  «,  following  each  closely  with  the  sounds  e-I-6-a.      (Diacritical 
marks  of  Webster^s  New  International  Dictionary.}     Blend  the  conso- 
nant and  the  following  vowel  very  carefully,  without  any  sudden  tran- 
sition, and  observe  the  same  method  in  linking  the  vowels. 

1 1 .  Give  the  following  consonants  with  each  of  the  following  vowels 
and  diphthongs.     Attack  them  vigorously. 


b 

d 

f 

g  (hard) 

i 

a  in  ale 

k 

e  in  eve 

I 

i  in  isle 

m 

o  in  old 

n 

oo  in  ooze 

P 

oi  in  oil 

r 

ow  in  owl 

s 

t 

w 

2 

HOW   TO   GET   A   PLEASING   VOICE  1 7 

12.  Give  each  of  the  following  vowel  sounds  three  times,  preceding 
it  with  the  sound  of;/.     Strive  for  clearness  at  first,  listening  closely  for 
any  unused  breath,  but  as  clearness  appears,  also  strive  for  strength. 

a  in  rate  e  in  we  i  mpine 

o  in  go  oo  mfood  a  in  father 

13.  Give  the  following  vocal  syllables,  reading  across  the  page. 

nee  nay  nah 

nah  naw  no 

nee  noo  nah 

noi  nigh  now 


PUB.  SPEAK. — 2 


LESSON    IV 

PRONUNCIATION   OF   SINGLE   WORDS 

ARTICULATION 

EVERY  student  knows  the  feeling  that  comes  over  him 
when  he  hears  one  of  his  classmates  mispronounce  a  word. 
The  same  feeling  comes  over  an  audience  when  a  public 
speaker  mispronounces  a  word,  and  it  is  plain  that  the 
audience  can  never  think  quite  so  much  of  a  speaker  as  if 
he  had  not  made  the  blunder. 

But  absolutely  incorrect  pronunciation  is  not  the  only 
thing  that  an  audience  does  not  like.  Sometimes,  although 
the  pronunciation  of  a  word  may  not  be  altogether  incorrect, 
it  is  given  in  such  an  indistinct  manner  that  the  audience 
have  to  listen  very  closely  to  make  out  what  is  being  said-. 
No  audience  will  listen  to  this  sort  of  pronunciation  long 
without  showing  disapproval  by  lack  of  attention,  whisper- 
ing, etc. 

The  speaker  who  wishes  to  hold  the  respect  and  attention 
of  his  audience  must  speak  both  correctly  and  distinctly. 

To  speak  distinctly,  it  is  necessary  to  give  attention  to 
what  is  called  articulation  (Latin,  articular e,  to  join); 
that  is,  the  joining  of  the  sounds  that  go  to  make  up  our 
speech,  or,  perhaps  better,  the  joining,  or  coming  together, 
of  the  organs  of  speech  in  uttering  these  sounds.  Thus  we 
can  clearly  see  that  in  giving  the  sound  of  the  letter  b  there 
is  a  joining  of  the  lips  ;  that  in  the  letter  /  or  d  there  is  a 
joining  of  the  tongue  and  teeth.  This  meaning  need  not 

18 


PRONUNCIATION    OF    SINGLE   WORDS  19 

-  be  confined  to  consonants  alone,  for  in  the  case  of  vowels 
there  is  also  a  certain  coming  together,  or  arrangement,  a 
certain  configuration,  as  it  is  sometimes  called.  Now  when 
these  different  arrangements  of  the  organs  are  performed 
well,  in  a  clean-cut,  energetic  way,  we  have  good  articulation, 
—  which  in  turn  gives  distinctness.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
the  organs  are  not  joined  strongly  and  firmly,  but  are  care- 
lessly and  slouchily  handled,  we  have  poor  articulation, 
which  results  in  indistinctness.  Distinctness  in  speaking 
is  founded  upon  a  muscular  act, — the  joining  of  the  speech 
organs,  —  and  it  follows  that  it  can  be  developed  in  the 
same  manner  that  an  athlete  develops  his  muscles,  by  fre- 
quent and  regular  practice. 

For  the  purpose  of  securing  this  practice  it  is  well  to 
divide  words  into  their  separate  sounds  and  syllables  in 
order  that  we  may  see  clearly  just  what  articulations  take 
place  in  the  word. 

Suppose  we  represent  the  a  sound  in  bathing  by  a  band 
of  sound,  lasting  about  a  second  thus  : 


Now   suppose  we   represent   the    i  sound   by   another 
similar  band  of  sound  a  second  in  length,  thus  : 


We  then  have  the  vowel  sounds  of  the  word  bathing, 
represented  by  the  following : 


It  is  evident  that  both  the  a  sound"  and  the  i  sound  are 
open   at   the  beginning   and   at  the  end.     Suppose  now 


20  PRONUNCIATION    OF    SINGLE   WORDS 

that  we  close  the  beginning  of  the  a  sound  with  the  letter 
b.     We  now  have  : 


Now  bring  the  a  sound  and  the  i  sound  together  with 
the  th  sound.     We  now  have  : 

a  th  i 

b("  )( 


Adding  the  ng  sound  at  the  end  we  have  : 

b  a  th  i  ng 


Now  shorten  all  these  elements  to  their  proper  length 
and  we  have  the  word  bathing. 

NOTE.  —  In  executing  this  word,  or  any  other  in  the  same  way,  firm- 
ness of  contact  and  quickness  of  release  should  characterize  all  the  con- 
sonant sounds. 

Write  out  the  following  words  after  the  manner  of  the 
word  b  at  J  ling,  given  above. 

CAUTION.  —  Of  course  words  which  begin  with  a  vowel 
sound  should  be  left  open  at  the  beginning,  as  those  which 
close  with  a  vowel  sound  should  be  left  open  at  the  end. 


WORDS 


look 

supposed 

nephew 

hereafter 

state 

wishing 

perpetrator 

motive 

murder 

immediately 

procurement 

prisoner 

suspicion 

association 

confirmed 

principally 

benefited 

excusable 

terminated 

everything 

PRONUNCIATION    OF    SINGLE   WORDS 


21 


EXERCISES 

14.  Extend   the  right   arm  horizontally  in   front,  letting  the  hand 
hang  perfectly  limp  and  lifeless.     Shake  it  vigorously  up  and  down, 
striking  down  on  the  counts  and  recovering 

on  the  and^s,  to  a  count  of  and  i,  and  2,  and 
3,  etc.,  up  to  and  8.  Execute  the  same  move- 
ment, first  striking  sidewise,  and  afterwards 
striking  downward  with  the  edge  of  the  hand. 
Repeat  with  left  hand  and  arm,  and  with  both 
the  left  and  right  together.  (See  Fig.  8.) 

15.  Holding  both  hands  in  front  of  you, 
palms  up,  take  hold  of  the  right  hand  with 
the  left,  letting  the  thumb  rest  in  the  palm. 
Allow  the  fingers  to  fall  in  toward  you.     Now 
unroll  them,  letting  the  forefinger  lead,  to  a 
count  of  i,  and  2,. and  ^,  etc.,  striking  out  on 
the    counts    and    recovering  on   the    and^s. 
Count  up   to  and  8.     Repeat  with  the  left 
hand  and  then  with  both.     Do  not  move  the 

wrist.     Don't  spread  the  fingers,  or  plaster  them  together.     (See  Figs. 
9  and  10.) 

16.  In  this  exercise,  first  name  the  letter,  next  give  its  sound  in  the 


First  position  in 
Ex.  14. 


FIG.  9.    First  position  in 
Ex.  15. 


FlG.  10.     Position  at  end  of 
stroke  in  Ex.  15. 


following  word,  then  give  the  word  itself.     Remember  to  get  firm  con- 
tact and  quick  release. 


22  PRONUNCIATION    OF    SINGLE    WORDS 


d  in  did 

t  in  tot 

th  in  ////';/ 

2/1  in  azure 

sh  in  shun 

^  in  cease 

j  in  judge 

ch  in  church 

I  in  ///// 

r  in  roar 

th  in  *//*;* 
2*  in  zone 
n  in  ;/«;/ 


17.  Use  the  following  words  and  sounds  the  same  as  in  Ex.  16. 
b  in  bob  p  in  pipe  /#  in  ;/z«;/z  w  in  w0<<? 
v  in  •vivid           f  \nfife                 c  in  cake             g  in  £#£• 
_y  in  ye                 ng  in  j/^ 

1 8.  The  following  list  of  words,  taken  from  Southwick's  Elocution 
and  Action,  "  contains  nearly  all  the  difficult  combinations  of  consonant 
sounds  you  are  likely  to  meet  in  your  reading."     Practice  them  slowly 
at  first,  and  then  increase  your  speed  up  to  the  normal  rate. 

Acts,  facts,  lists,  ghosts,  depths,  droop^t,  adopts,  fifths,  laughst, 
hookst,  desks,  safst,  help^st,  twelfths,  thefts,  milk'st,  halt'st,  limp'st,  at- 
temptst,  wanfst,  think'st,  warpst,  dwarfst,  hurtst,  sixths,  eighths,  texts, 
protects,  stifl'st,  sparkl'st,  waken'st,  robb'st,  amidst,  width,  digg'st, 
rav'st,  writh'st,  prob'dst,  hundredths,  begg'dst,  besieg'dst,  catch 'dst, 
troubl'st,  trifl'st,  shov'lst,  kindPst,  struggl'st,  puzzPst,  shield'st,  revolv'st, 
helpMst,  trembFdst,  trif'ldst,  shov'dst,  involv'dst,  twinkl'dst,  fondl'dst, 
dazzl'dst,  rattl'dst,  send'st,  wak'n'dst,  madd'n'dst,  lighten'dst,  ripen'dst, 
hearken'dst,  doom'dst,  o^rwhelm'dst,  absorb\st,  regard'st,  curb'dst, 
hurPdst,  charm'dst,  return'dst,  starv'dst,  strength1  fist,  strengthVd, 
wrong' dst,  lengthen'dst,  sooth'dst,  act'st,  lift'st,  melt'st,  hurt'st,  wanfst, 
shoufst,  touchM,  parch'd,  help'dst,  barkMst,  prompt'st,  touch'dst,  rattPst. 

19.  Practice  the  following  sounds  vigorously :  ee-oo-ah,  ah-oo-ee,  ah- 
ee-oo,  oo-ee-ah,  oo-ah-ee,  ee-ah-oo.     Repeat  each  four  or  five  times  be- 
fore going  to  the  next. 

20.  Practice  the  following  as  in  Ex.  19.     Ip-it-ik,  it-ip-ik,  ik-ip-it, 
ip-ik-it,  ik-it-ip,  it-ik-ip. 


LESSON    V 

PRONUNCIATION   OF   SINGLE   WORDS  —  Continued 

THE  USE  OF  THE  DICTIONARY 

IF  a  person  comes  to  a  word  he  does  not  know  how  to 
pronounce,  he  is  told  to  look  it  up  in  the  dictionary.  This 
is  very  simple,  but  many  a  high  school  student  does  not 
know  how  to  pronounce  the  word  after  he  has  found  it  in 
the  dictionary.  A  few  directions,  however,  will  remove 
the  difficulty. 

First.  —  Observe  that,  generally,  in  the  dictionaries,  the 
words  are  respelled  right  after  they  are  given. 

Second.  —  Observe  also  that  in  the  words  thus  respelled, 
some  letters  have  certain  marks  above,  below,  or  through 
them,  and  some  letters  are  unmarked. 

Third.  —  If  you  do  not  know  how  a  certain  letter  with  a 
certain  mark  should  be  pronounced,  first  look  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  page,  where  you  will  probably  find  it  in  a  com- 
mon word  that  you  do  know  how  to  pronounce.  Transfer 
this  sound  to  the  word  in  question. 

Fourth.  —  If  a  letter  is  not  marked,  the  only  safe  way  is 
to  refer  to  the  "  Key  to  Pronunciation  "  in  the  front  of  the 
dictionary.  There  you  will  find  every  letter,  marked  or 
unmarked,  used  in  the  respelling,  together  with  its  proper 
sound. 

Fifth. — When  using  dictionaries  which  do  not  have 
words  at  the  bottom  of  the  page,  unless  you  are  familiar 
with  the  system  of  marks  used,  the  only  safe  way  is  to 
refer  to  the  Key  in  the  front  of  the  dictionary  at  once. 

23 


24  PRONUNCIATION    OF    SINGLE    WORDS 

Sixth.  —  Where  the  words  are  not  respelled,  do  as 
above  ;  that  is,  look  for  the  pronunciation  of  marked  letters 
at  the  bottom  of  the  page  first,  and,  failing  to  find  them 
there,  look  in  the  Key  in  the  front  of  the  dictionary.  For 
all  unmarked  letters  look  in  the  Key  at  once. 

NOTE.  —  The  best  way  is  to  take  some  one  dictionary  as  your 
authority  and  thoroughly  learn  the  system  used  for  indicating  pronun- 
ciation. 

But  after  the  correct  sound  of  all  the  letters  in  a  word 
has  been  determined,  there  is  still  an  important  thing  left. 
This  is  accent,  or  the  special  prominence  given  to  certain  syl- 
lables in  a  zuord. 

In  a  word  of  two  syllables  there  is  only  one  accent,  as 
a-back'.  This  is  called  the  primary  accent. 

In  words  of  more  than  two  syllables  there  is  often  more 
than  one  accent,  as  ac"ci-dent/al.  In  these  cases  the 
stronger  accent  is  the  primary,  while  the  lighter  is  called 
the  secondary  accent. 

In  very  long  words  there  may  be  a  third  accent,  weaker 
than  either  of  the  others,  and  called  the  tertiary  accent,  as 
tran'"-sub-stan"-ti-a'-tion. 

NOTE.  —  The  marks  used  to  denote  the  different  accents  are  usually 
those  given  above,  but  sometimes  the  same  mark  (')  is  used  for  all,  with 
the  exception  that  it  is  made  lighter  for  each  accent  that  is  needed 
beyond  the  primary. 

WRITTEN  EXERCISE 

With  the  above  directions,  let  the  pupil  mark  the  fol- 
lowing words,  dividing  them  into  syllables  and  placing  the 
proper  accents.  Also  let  him  be  able  to  pronounce  them 
in  class  without  his  paper. 

CAUTION.  —  Remember  that,  according  to  any  dictionary, 
if  only  one  set  of  marks  is  given  for  a  word,  it  can  be  pro- 
nounced in  only  one  way.  So,  in  the  following  list,  if  any 


PRONUNCIATION    OF    SINGLE   WORDS 


word  marked  by  the  pupil  can  be  pronounced  in  two  ways 
by  the  teacher,  when  only  one  set  of  marks  is  used,  the 
word  should  be  counted  wrong. 


abdomen          aid-de-camp      almond 


archipelago       aunt 


acclimate  ally 

bade  bayou 

bomb  booth 

casualty  cerebral 

comparable  daunt 


amenable  association  auxiliary 

bronchitis  been  bellows 

brooch  buffet  canine 

chastisement  chirography  combatants 

decade  disarm  discourse 

EXERCISES 


21.  Holding  both  hands  in  front  of  you,  palms  up,  take  hold  of  the 
right  wrist  with  the  thumb  and  first  three  fingers  of  the  left  hand,  the 
thumb  being  on  the  inside  of  the  wrist.  Let  the  whole  hand  fall  in 


FIG.  ii.     First  position  in 
Ex.  21. 


FIG.  12.    Position    at    end 
of  stroke  in  Ex.  21. 


toward  you.  Now  unroll  the  hand  slowly  to  a  count  of  I,  2,  3.  Repeat 
eight  times.  Do  the  same  with  the  left  hand  and  with  each  alternately. 

22.  Facing  a  little  to  the  right  with  the  counterpart  of  the  position 
shown  in  Figure  i,  place  the  hands  in  the  position  shown  in  Figure  13, 
and  carrying  them  clear  out,  imagine  that  you  are  welcoming  some  one. 
Bring  back  the  hands  and  repeat  eight  times.  Do  the  same,  facing  a 
little  to  the  left. 

NOTE.  —  In  going  through  this  exercise,  consult  Figures  14  and  15, 
for  common  faults.  Also  examine  Figure  16,  which  shows  a  better  exe- 
cution of  the  exercise. 


FIG.   13.      Position    of    the   hands   at      FIG.  15.    "  Reaching "  in  Ex.  22,  show- 
the  beginning  of  Ex.  22.  ing  also   the  faults  of  straight  wrists 

and  doubled-up  fingers. 


FIG.  14.    Straight   hands   and   elbows        FIG.  16.    A  better  execution  of  Ex.  22. 
in  Ex.  22. 

(26) 


LESSON    VI 
PRONUNCIATION   IN  SENTENCES 

WHAT  has  been  said  in  the  last  two  lessons  in  regard 
to  pronunciation  might  be  enough  if  we  talked  by  single 
words.  In  our  everyday  use  of  language,  however,  we 
talk  by  sentences,  and  this  requires  us  to  give  attention  to 
some  things  that  we  might  not  need  to  think  about  if  we 
used  only  single  words. 

First.  —  In  certain  abrupt  sounds,  like  k,  p,  t,  etc.,  there 
is  a  faint  sound  heard  at  the  end  of  the  letter,  —  really  a 
little  puff  of  breath.  This  is  called  the  vocule.  In  read- 
ing or  speaking  sentences,  do  not  sound  this  vocule  too 
distinctly.  Do  not  say,  Hekept-tu  his  hat-tu  iipon  a  hook-kit. 

Second.  —  It  of  tens  happens  that  in  reading  or  speaking 
one  word  ends  with  the  same  sound  with  which  the  next 
word  begins,  as 

The  student  took  his  book  and  went  to  the  board. 

In  cases  of  this  kind,  pronounce  the  sentence  just  as  if 
there  were  only  one  letter  in  place  of  the  two.  To  pro- 
nounce them  both  leads  people  to  think  you  are  over  nice. 
Third.  —  In  English  there  are  certain  letters  which  have 
the  same  position  of  the  mouth,  but  different  sounds,  as 
b  and  /.  When  two  of  these  come  together,  use  only  one 
position  of  the  mouth.  In  the  sentence, 

He  dicPno  harm, 

one  position  between  did  and  no  is  all  that  is  necessary. 
If  two  positions  are  used,  it  sounds  as  if  one  were  trying 
to  attract  attention  to  himself. 

27 


28  PRONUNCIATION    IN    SENTENCES 

Under  this  topic  it  may  be  well  for  the  student  to  con- 
sider carefully  the  following  paragraph,  taken  from  the 
preface  of  the  New  International  Dictionary. 

STYLES  OF  SPEAKING  SUITED  TO  VARIOUS  OCCASIONS 

"  The  fact  that  there  are  several  styles  of  speaking,  any 
one  of  which  may  properly  be  adopted  according  to  cir- 
cumstances, further  complicates  the  task  of  producing  a 
pronouncing  dictionary.  Professional  speakers,  —  actors, 
clergymen,  orators,  — in  effort  to  impart  great  clearness 
and  carrying  power  to  their  words,  cultivate  a  style  of  enun- 
ciation that  would  be  considered  artificial,  pedantic,  or  af- 
fected, if  used  in  ordinary  conversation.  Dr.  Johnson  long 
ago  recognized  a  double  standard,  for  he  says  in  the  gram- 
mar prefixed  to  his  dictionary,  'They  (the  writers  of  English 
grammar)  seem  not  sufficiently  to  have  considered,  that  of 
English,  as  of  all  living  tongues,  there  is  a  double  pronun- 
ciation, one  cursory  and  colloquial,  the  other  regular  and 
solemn.'  There  are,  in  reality,  several  varieties  of  speaking 
style,  the  differences  in  which  are  largely  dependent  upon 
the  rate  of  utterance.  The  most  formal  speech  is  that 
used  in  public  oratory,  in  the  acting  of  certain  parts  upon 
the  stage,  or  upon  the  most  solemn  occasions.  Training 
in  this  style,  in  which  weight  is  given  to  nearly  every  syl- 
lable, belongs  to  the  teaching  of  oratory  or  elocution.  For 
ordinary  public  speaking,  reading  aloud,  and  careful  con- 
versation, a  style  may  be  employed  which  makes  the  un- 
accented syllables  lighter,  allowing  the  vowels  contained  in 
them  to  turn  more  often  toward  the  neutral  vowel  sound, 
e  in  ev'er,  or,  as  in  the  case  of  unaccented  e  in  added, 
toward  the  sound  of  t  in  pin.  Whatever  standard  is  taken 
as  a  model,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  ordinary 
speech  of  cultured  people  is  not  slovenly,  if  colloquial 
weakening  is  not  carried  too  far.  The  difference  between 


PRONUNCIATION    IN    SENTENCES  29 

the  pronunciation  of  a  word  when  taken  alone  and  as  it 
occurs  in  a  sentence  should  also  be  carefully  kept  in  mind ; 
thus  and  considered  alone  is  and,  but  in  such  a  combina- 
tion as  bread  and  butter,  it  is  ordinarily  weakened  to  'nd, 
or  even  to  'n  ;  a  in  the  phrase  for  a  day  becomes  a  (so'fa\ 
etc." 

Fourth.  —  The  accent  of  words  in  sentences  is  not  always 
the  same  as  when  they  are  considered  alone. 

The  accent  is  often  changed  to  show  contrast,  as, 

Man  is  mortal,  God  is  ////'mortal. 

Immortal,  of  course,  is  generally  pronounced  im  mort' al. 
Other  examples : 

We  have  sins  of  com1  mission  and  sins  of  Emission. 

.Expression  depends  upon  ////'pression. 

One  was  an  ^'fensive  policy,  the  other  defensive. 

CAUTION.  —  Sometimes  a  verb  and  an  adjective  are  spelled 
the  same  way.  Be  careful  to  pronounce  each  correctly.  They 
are  not  the  same  word,  and  each  should  have  its  own  pro- 
nunciation. Example:  adjective, — per' feet;  verb, — perfect1. 
This  also  occurs  with  nouns  and  verbs.  Example:  noun,  — 
contrast;  verb,  —  contrast' .  Likewise  with  nouns  and  adjec- 
tives. Example :  adjective,  —  compact';  noun,  —  cowl  pact. 

WRITTEN  EXERCISE 

Properly  mark,  accent,  and  divide  into  syllables,  the  fol 
lowing  words  : 

disputable  ennui  exhibit  finale 

divan  enervate  exile  financier 


dolorous 

envelope 

exquisite 

finance 

drama 

equipage 

falcon 

forehead 

emendation 

exemplary 

February 

fortnight 

glamour 

gladiolus 

gondola 

granary 

gratis 

handsome 

hearth 

hiccough 

hospitable 

hovel 

30  PRONUNCIATION    IN    SENTENCES 

EXERCISES 

23.   With  both  hands  in  front  of  you,  place  the  fingers  of  the  left  hand 
to  the  palm  of  the  right,  the  forearm  and  the  fingers  being  in  a  horizon- 


FIG.   17.     First    position    in 
Ex.  23. 


FIG.  18.      Second   position 
in  Ex.  23. 


tal  line  and  forming  a  right  angle  with  the  right  forearm  and  hand. 
See  Figure  17.  Now,  without  bending  the  fingers,  carry  the  hand  to 
the  position  shown  in  Figure  18.  From  this  position  lowqr  the  hand 


FlG.  19.     Third  position  in 
Ex.  23. 


FlG.  20.     Positions    of   the 
hands  in  Ex.  24. 


until  it  stands  as  in  Figure  19.     Repeat  this  movement  eight  times. 
Do  the  same  with  the  other  hand. 


PRONUNCIATION    IN    SENTENCES  31 

24.  Extend  the  right  arm  horizontally  in  front  of  you,  placing  it  even 
with  the  shoulder  of  the  student  who  is  in  front  of  you,  those  in  the 
front  row  using  some  imaginary  line  on  the  wall  as  a  guide.  Have  the 
elbow  bent  out  a  trifle  to  the  side.  Be  careful  to  keep  the  body  straight, 
—  do  not  let  the  arm  that  is  extended  pull  the  body  forward.  Now 
raise  the  wrist,  still  keeping  your  finger  tips  even  with  your  guide  in 
front.  Now  lower  it.  See  Figure  20.  Repeat  eight  times.  Do  the 
same  with  the  left  hand  and  with  both  hands. 

CAUTION.  —  Be  careful  not  to  keep  the  forearm  still  and 
move  the  hand  up  and  down. 

NOTE.  —  Although  only  a  few  exercises  are  given  in  each  lesson,  it  is 
absolutely  imperative  that  those  already  given  should,  as  far  as  possible, 
be  reviewed  each  day. 


LESSON    VII 
EMPHASIS 

EMPHASIS  is  the  special  prominence  given  to  one  or 
more  words  in  a  sentence.  Just  as  in  the  word  pro  nun1 
cia'tion  we  give  more  prominence  to  the  syllables  nun  and 
a,  so  in  the  sentence,  /  went  to  Boston,  we  give  prominence 
to  the  words  went  and  Boston.  Emphasis  is  the  same 
thing  in  a  sentence  that  accent  is  in  a  word. 

There  are  different  degrees  of  emphasis,  just  as  there  are 
different  degrees  of  accent,  but  because  there  are  so  many 
more  degrees,  just  as  there  are  many  more  words  in  a 
sentence  than  syllables  in  a  word,  the  different  degrees 
are  hardly  ever  named.  Generally  we  simply  say  that  this 
or  that  word  has  the  greatest  emphasis,  or  the  weakest 
emphasis,  or  stronger  emphasis,  or  weaker  emphasis. 

EMPHASIS  IN  SENTENCES  OF  ONE  IDEA 

In  every  sentence  there  are  words  that  embody  the  idea 
of  the  author,  that  show  forth  his  meaning,  more  than  the 
others.  Some  are  exceedingly  important,  others  are  less 
essential,  and  finally,  some  merely  show  the  relation  be- 
tween the  others,  or  connect  them.  Naturally  the  public 
speaker  wishes  to  make  the  important  words  especially 
clear,  he  wishes  to  show  them  forth;  that  is,  emphasize 
them,  —  for  in  reality  our  word  emphasize  is  from  the 
Greek  word  meaning  to  show  forth,  or  indicate. 

THE  FIRST  LAW  OF  EMPHASIS. — Words  in  a  sentence 
should  be  emphasized  in  proportion  as  they  are  essential 
to  the  meaning.  Examples  : 

32 


EMPHASIS  33 

College  students  are  MEN  OF  PRIVILEGE. 

They  intend  to  exercise  a  PURIFYING  INFLUENCE  in  the  world. 

Men  of  thought  should  OPPOSE  bad  influences. 

—  GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 


In  the  following  sentences  underscore  the  words  that  are 
most  important  to  the  meaning  : 

The  South  is  enamored  of  her  work.  Her  soul  is  stirred  with  the 
breath  of  a  new  life.  The  light  of  a  grander  day  is  falling  on  her  face. 
She  is  thrilling  with  the  consciousness  -of  a  growing  power. 

—  HENRY  W.  GRADY. 

EMPHASIS   IN   PARAGRAPHS,   OR   IN  SENTENCES  OF  MORE 
THAN  ONE  IDEA 

If  all  sentences  had  only  one  idea,  and  always  occurred 
alone,  the  only  law  of  emphasis  needed  would  be  the  one 
just  given.  More  often,  however,  sentences  have  more  than 
one  idea  in  them,  and  they  generally  do  not  stand  alone, 
but  are  grouped  in  paragraphs.  Thus,  just  as  accent  often 
changes  when  words  are  brought  into  sentences,  so  em- 
phasis changes  when  more  than  one  idea  is  expressed  in  a 
sentence,  or  when  sentences  are  brought  into  paragraphs. 

SECOND  LAW  OF  EMPHASIS.  —  When  a  sentence  contains 
more  than  one  idea,  or  when  sentences  of  one  idea  occur  in 
groups,  the  words  which  bring  out  the  new  ideas  as  they 
come  along  should  be  emphasized.  Examples  : 

Let  us  proclaim  it  firmly,  proclaim  it  even  in.  fall  and  in  defeat,  this 
age  is  \\\z grandest  of  #//ages  ;  and  do  you  know  wherefore?  Because 
it  is  the  most  benignant.  This  age  enfranchises  the  slave  in  America* 
extinguishes  in  Europe  the  last  brands  of  the  stake,  civilizes  Turkey, 
penetrates  the  Koran  with  the  Gospel,  dignifies  woman,  and  subordi- 
nates the  right  of  the  strongest  to  the  right  of  the  most  just. 

—  VICTOR  HUGO. 

With  how  much  pride,  with  what  a  thrill,  with  what  tender  and  loyal 
reverence,  may  we  not  cherish  the  spot  where  this  marvelous  enterprise 

TUB.    SPEAK. — 3 


34  EMPHASIS 

began,  the  roof  under  which  the  first  councils  were  held^  where  the  air 
still  trembles  and  burns  with  Otis  and  Sam  Adams.  Except  the  Holy 
City,  is  there  any  more  memorable  or  sacred  place  on  \.\\eface  of  the 
earth  than  the  cradle  of  j«^  a  change?  ATHENS  has  her  ACROPOLIS, 
but  the  Greek  can  point  to  no  such  results.  LONDON  has  her  PALACE, 
and  her  TOWER,  and  her  ST.  STEPHEN'S  CHAPEL,  but  the  human  race 
owes  her  no  such  memories.  FRANCE  has  SPOTS  marked  by  the  SUB- 
LIMEST  DEVOTION,  but  the  Mecca  of  the  man  who  believes  and  hopes  for 
the  human  race  is  not  to  Paris ;  it  is  to  the  SEABOARD  CITIES  of  the 
GREAT  REPUBLIC. —WENDELL  PHILLIPS. 

NOTE.  —  In  the  above  example,  starting  with  the  word  Athens,  the 
new  ideas  are  in  small  capitals,  and  the  ideas  already  brought  out  are  in 
italics.  To  be  sure,  the  emphasis  here  given  may  be  called  emphasis 
of  contrast  (taken  up  in  the -next  lesson),  but  it  also  shows  the  stronger 
emphasis  which  new  ideas  take  and  the  weaker  emphasis  which  is  given 
to  ideas  already  brought  out. 

WRITTEN   EXERCISE 

In  the  following  selections,  underscore  the  new  ideas 
twice,  and  the  ideas  already  brought  out,  once. 

Nothing  is  so  natural  as  trade  with  one's  neighbors  ;  the  Philippines 
make  us  the  nearest  neighbors  of  all  the  East.  Nothing  is  more  natural 
than  to  trade  with  those  you  know.  The  Philippines  bring  us  perma- 
nently face  to  face  with  the  most-sought-for  customers  of  the  world. 

—  ALBERT  J.  BEVERIDGE. 

I  do  not  believe  that  this  nation  was  raised  up  for  nothing.  I  have 
faith  that  it  has  a  great  mission  in  the  world,  —  a  mission  of  good, 
a  mission  of  freedom.  I  believe  that  it  can  live  up  to  that  mission; 
therefore  I  want  to  see  it  step  forward  boldly  and  take  its  place  at  the 
head  of  the  nations. — HENRY  CABOT  LODGE. 

WORDS 

Mark  and  be  able  to  pronounce  these  words  as  those  in 
preceding  lessons. 

ignoramus  illusive  indisputable  industry 

interpolate  iodine  irrefutable  jocund 

inquiry  jugular  juvenile  lamentable 


EMPHASIS 


35 


laundry 

maritime 

mistletoe 

nicotine 

pageant 


lichen 

loth 

mausoleum 

mercantile 

museum 

national 

obligatory 
paraffin 

oblique 

EXERCISES 


lyceum 
mirage 
nausea 
often 


25.  Breathing  exercise.     With  the  hands  upon  the  waist,  place  the 
lips  in  the  position  for  the  letter/".     Take  breath  in  vigorous  jerks,  feel- 
ing the  sides  expand  at  each  jerk. 

26.  Starting  the  right  hand  from  the  side,  carry  it  forward  until  the 
arm  is  horizontal,  letting  the  hand  hang  lifelessly.     Do  not  stop  when 


FIG.  21.     Raising  the  hand 
in  Ex.  26. 


FIG.  22.     Lowering  the 
hand  in  Ex.  26. 


the  arm  is  horizontal,  but  carry  it  up  till  it  is  vertical,  or  nearly  so.  The 
wrist  should  lead  all  the  way  up.  Now  bring  the  hand  down,  the  wrist 
again  leading.  (See  Figs.  21  and  22.)  Repeat  eight  times.  Do  the 
same  with  the  left  hand  and  with  both  hands. 

CAUTION.  —  When  you  get  the  hand  clear  up,  lower  the 
wrist  to  start  down.  Do  not  throw  the  hand  up.  Keep  the 
finger  tips  stationary  while  you  lower  the  wrist.  Raise  the 
wrist  at  the  bottom  in  the  same  manner. 


LESSON    VIII 
EMPHASIS  —  Continued 

SOMETIMES  one  idea  is  contrasted  or  compared  with 
another,  either  in  the  same  sentence,  or  in  sentences  close 
together,  or  even  in  sentences  quite  far  apart. 

THIRD  LAW  OF  EMPHASIS.  — When  one  idea  is  contrasted 
or  compared  with  another,  the  words  which  bring  out  the 
contrasted  ideas  should  be  emphasized. 

This  law  covers  several  cases  : 

First.  —  Contrast  where  each  side  of  the  contrast  has  one 
idea.  Examples : 

NOTE.  —  The  first  three  of  these  examples  also  show  contrast  in  the 
same  sentence,  the  fourth  contrast  in  sentences  close  together,  and  the 
fifth  contrast  in  sentences  far  apart. 

I  know  of  no  way  of  judging  \hzfuture,  but  by  the  fast. 

—  PATRICK  HENRY. 

Men  should  be  what  they  seem.  —  SHAKESPEARE. 
She  was  a  Prince's  child, 
/  but  a  Viking  wild.  —  LONGFELLOW. 

There  is  no  geography  in  American  manhood.  There  are  no  sections 
in  American  fraternity.  The  South  claims  Lincoln,  the  immortal,  for 
its  own.  The  North  has  no  right  to  reject  Stonewall  Jackson,  the  one 
typical  Puritan  soldier  of  the  war,  for  its  own.  Nor  'will  it ! 

Turning  to  the  Cyclopes  did  of  American  Biography,  I  find  that  Web- 
ster had  all  the  vices  that  are  supposed  to  have  signalized  the  Cavalier, 
and  Calhoun  all  the  virtues  that  are  claimed  for  the  Puritan.  During 
twenty  years  three  statesmen  of  Puritan  origin  were  chosen  party  lead- 
ers of  Cavalier  Mississippi:  Robert  J.  Walker,  born  and  reared  in 
Pennsylvania;  John  A:  Quitman,  born  and  reared  in  New  York;  and 
Sargent  S.  Prentiss,  born  and  reared  in  the  good  old  state  of  Maine. 

36 


EMPHASIS  37 

That  sturdy  Puritan,  John  Slidell,  never  saw  Louisiana  until  he  was  old 
enough  to  vote  and  to  fight:  native  here,  —  an  alumnus  of  Columbia 
College, — but  sprung  from  New  England  ancestors.  Albert  Sidney 
Johnston,  the  most  resplendent  of  modern  Cavaliers,  —  from  tip  to  toe 
a  type  of  the  species,  the  very  rose  and  expectancy  of  the  young  Con- 
federacy,—  did  not  have  a  drop  of  Southern  blood  in  his  veins; 
Yankee  on  both  sides  of  the  house,  though  born  in  Kentucky  a  little 
after  his  father  and  mother  arrived  there  from  Connecticut.  The  am- 
bassador who  serves  our  government  near  the  French  Republic  was  a 
gallant  Confederate  soldier  and  is  a  representative  Southern  statesman  ; 
but  he  owns  the  estate  in  Massachusetts  where  his  father  was  born,  and 
where  his  father's  fathers  lived  through  many  generations. 

And  the  Cavaliers,  who  missed  their  stirrups,  somehow,  and  got 
into  Yankee  saddles  ?  The  woods  were  full  of  them.  If  Custer  was 
not  a  Cavalier,  Rupert  was  a  Puritan.  And  Sherwood,  and  Wadsworth, 
and  Kearny,  and  McPherson,  and  their  dishing  companions  and  fol- 
lowers !  The  one  typical  Puritan  soldier  of  the  war,  —  mark  you, — >• 
was  a  Southern,  and  not  a  Northern,  soldier :  Stonewall  Jackson,  of 
the  Virginia  line.  And,  if  we  should  care  to  pursue  the  subject  further 
back,  what  about  Ethan  Allen  and  John  Stark  and  Mad  Anthony 
Wayne,  Cavaliers  each  and  every  one  !  Indeed,  from  Israel  Putnam  to 
Buffalo  Bill,  it  seems  to  me  the  Puritans  have  had  rather  the  best  of  it 
in  turning  out  Cavaliers.  So  the  least  said  about  the  Puritan  and  the 
Cavalier,  — except  as  blessed  memories  or  horrid  examples,  —  the  bet- 
ter for  historic  accuracy. —  HENRY  WATTERSON. 

Second.  —  Contrast  where  eacJi  side  of  the  contrast  has 
two  ideas. 

My  fruit  is  better  than  gold,  yea,  than  fine  gold ;  and  my  revenue 
than  choice  silver.  — Proverbs  viii.  19. 

Better  is  a  dry  morsel  and  quietness  therewith,  than  a  house  full  of 
sacrifices  with  strife. — Proverbs  xvii.  i. 

Third.  —  Contrast  where  each  side  of  the  contrast  has 
three  ideas. 

The  darkness  of  night  shall  not  cover  thy  treason, — the  walls  of 
privacy  shall  not  stifle  its  voice.  —  CICERO,  against  Catiline. 

Thou  shalt  soon  be  made  aware  that  /  am  even  more  active  in 
providing  for  the  preservation  of  the  state,  than  thou  in  plotting  its 
destruction.  —  CICERO,  against  Catiline. 


recess 

respite 

sergeant 

squalor 

traverse 


EMPHASIS 

WORDS 

refutable 

reparable 

research 

resource 

romance 

reveille 

sacerdotal 

seraglio 

sirup 

slake 

solace 

squalid 

taunt 

tirade 

toward 

transition 

pronunciation 

zoology 

partner 

patronage 

precedence 

prelate 

vaccine 

visor 

EXERCISES 

27.    Starting  with  the  right  hand  at  the  side,  carry  it  up  and  down 
at  the  side  in  the  same  way  that  you  carried  it  up  and  down  in  front 


FlG.  23.    Raising  the  hands 
in  Ex.  28. 


FlG.  24.    Lowering  the 
hands  in  Ex.  28. 


in  Ex.  26.     Do  the  same  with  the  left  hand  and  with   both   hands. 
Observe  the  caution  on  Ex.  26. 

28.  In  this  exercise  go  through  the  same  motion  with  the  hands 
that  you  do  in  Ex.  27,  except  carry  the  arm  diagonally  in  front,  as 
shown  in  Figures  23  and  24.  Do  the  exercise  with  the  right  hand  and 
then  with  the  left.  Then  with  both  hands. 


LESSON    IX 
EMPHASIS  —  Continued 

IN  any  of  the  cases  of  contrast,  one  side  of  the  contrast 
may  be  implied,  that  is,  it  may  be  taken  for  granted 
without  being  expressed. 

Contrast  with  one  idea : 

This  is  a  free  country.  (Implying  that  there  are  other  countries 
which  are  not  free.) 

Contrast  with  two  ideas  : 

To-day  the  Union  stands  not  defended  by  armed  force  or  frowning 
fortresses.  (Implying  that  in  the  past  the  Union  has  been  defended  by 
armed  force,  etc.) 

Contrast  with  three  ideas  : 

Rest  in  peace,  great  Columbus  of  the  heavens,  —  like  him,  scorned, 
persecuted,  broken-hearted  !  —  in  other  ages,  in  distant  hemispheres, 
when  the  votaries  of  science,  with  solemn  acts  of  consecration,  shall 
dedicate  their  stately  edifices  to  the  cause  of  knowledge  and  truth,  thy 
name  shall  be  mentioned  with  honor. 

—  EDWARD 'EVERETT,  on  Galileo. 

(Implying  that  in  that  age,  and  that  hemisphere,  the  votaries  of 
religion  did  not  honor  his  name.) 

In  addition  to  the  cases  of  emphasis  already  mentioned, 

there  is  still  another.     Oftentimes  a  speaker  utters  a  series 

of  ideas,  —  or  he  may  repeat  the  same  idea  several  times, 

-  getting  more  and  more  earnest  toward  the  end.     This 

is  called  climax. 

FOURTH  LAW  OF  EMPHASIS.  —  When  a  speaker  utters 
a  series  of  ideas,  or  when  he  repeats  the  same  idea  several 

39 


40  EMPHASIS 

times,  and  there  is  an  increasing  earnestness  toward  the 
end,  the  important  words  of  each  succeeding  increase 
in  earnestness  should  have  a  corresponding  increase  of 
emphasis.  Examples : 

Let  Heaven  and  MEN  and  DEVILS,  let  them  ALL, 
ALL,  ALL,  cry  shame  against  me,  yet  I'll  speak. 

—  SHAKESPEARE. 
I  came,  I  SAW,  I  CONQUERED.  —  CESAR. 

You  think  me  a  fanatic,  for  you  read  history  not  with  your  eyes,  but 
with  your  prejudices.  But  fifty  years  hence,  when  Truth  gets  a  hearing, 
the  Muse  of  history  will  put  Phocion  for  the  Greek,  Brutus  for  the 
Roman,  Hampden  for  England,  I^ayette  for  France,  choose  WASHING- 
TON as  the  bright  consummate  flower  of  OUR  earlier  civilization,  then, 
dipping  her  pen  in  the  sunlight,  will  write  in  the  clear  blue,  ABOVE 
THEM  ALL,  the  name  of  the  SOLDIER,  the  STATESMAN,  the 
MARTYR,  TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE. 

—  WENDELL  PHILLIPS. 

NOTE.  —  In  this  last  example  the  closing  words  need  not  be  given 
louder  than  the  others.  Emphasis  may  consist  in  lowering  the  voice. 
We  simply  need  to  give  them  more  prominence  in  SOME  way. 

EXERCISES 

29.  Execute  the  general  movement  suggested  in  Ex.  26  horizontally 
in  front  on  a  level  with  the  waist  line,  using  eight  counts. 

30.  Execute  the  movement  of  Ex.  29  on  a  level  with  the  shoulders 
and  above  the  head. 


(LESSON    X 
FIRST   STEPS   IN  ACTUAL  DELIVERY 
AT  this  point  -in  our  study  of  Public  Speaking,  it  may 
e  well  to  stop  for  a  few  general  suggestions  in  regard  to 
actual   speaking.      From    the   written    criticism    of    some 
fifteen  hundred    pupils  a  year,  the  following  faults  have 
been  observed  as  the   most   common.     Not   all   students 
will  have  all  these  faults,  but  hardly  any  student  fails  to 
have  some  of  them. 

Go  slow.  —  The  greatest  fault  of  young  speakers  is 
that  they  go  too  fast.  The  words  are  so  jumbled  together 
and  sent  after  one  another  so  rapidly  that  nobody  can  pos- 
sibly understand.  Many  students  speak  over  two  hundred 
words  a  minute.  This  speed  should  be  cut  nearly  in  two. 
From  a  hundred  to  a  hundred  and  fifty  words  is  enough 
for  a  minute.  Take  a  watch  in  your  hand,  and  after 
selecting  some  extract  from  a  speech  which  has  about  a 
hundred  and  twenty-five  words,  time  yourself.  Do  not 
be  satisfied  until  you  can  occupy  a  full  minute  in  giving 
the  selection. 

NOTE.  —  The  rate  of  utterance,  of  course,  as  will  be  pointed  out 
later,  depends  upon  the  size  of  the  room. 

In  practicing  slow  speaking,  rather  lengthen  the  pauses 
than  the  words  themselves.  Be  careful  not  to  get  a 
choppy  style  in  doing  this,  but  avoid  the  other  extreme 
of  drawling  your  words. 

Speak  louder.  —  Nearly  every  student  when  asked  to 
speak  louder,  answers,  "  Why,  I'm  yelling  already."  This 

41 


42  FIRST    STEPS   IN   ACTUAL   DELIVERY 

may  actually  seem  so  to  the  student,  for  he  has  been 
accustomed  all  his  life  to  speaking  with  people  only  a 
few  feet  away.  To  speak  to  people  over  a  hundred  feet 
away  is  quite  a  different  thing.  A  little  bit  of  yelling  must 
enter  into  the  style,  —  perhaps  calling  would  be  a  better 
term.  The  only  thing  to  remember  is  that,  although  you 
seemingly  yell,  you  must  talk  just  as  you  would  to  a  per- 
son near  you.  A  speech  to  a  thousand  people  is  simply  a 
conversation  with  one  person  greatly  magnified.  Get  some 
one  to  stand  at  the  back  of  a  large  room,  and  tell  him 
to  stop  you  every  time  he  fails  to  understand  a  single 
word.  Don't  tell  him  what  you  are  going  to  speak  about, 
but  see  if  he  can  make  out  what  you  say. 

Keep  your  eyes  on  the  audience.  — Very  often  a  young 
speaker  will  look  at  the  floor,  or  the  ceiling,  or  will  look 
out  of  the  window.  Don't  do  this.  Look  at  tJie  people. 
At  first  this  will  be  hard  to  do,  for  it  will  make  you  forget 
what  you  want  to  say,  but  it  must  be  done,  if  you  are  to 
succeed.  Learn  your  production  so  well  that  you  can 
look  straight  at  your  audience,  and  yet,  back  in  your  head, 
think  what  comes  next.  Even  during  your  pauses,  keep 
your  eyes  on  your  audience. 

Keep  a  good  position.  —  When  a  speaker  gets  interested 
in  making  a  speech,  he  is  apt  to  forget  all  about  his 
position.  This  is  as  it  should  be,  provided,  by  constant 
practice,  the  speaker,  by  second  nature,  takes  a  correct 
position.  But  for  a  very  long  time  one  must  constantly 
think  of  his  position.  Practice  daily  before  a  mirror.  Get 
so  familiar  with  your  position  and  your  changes  that  you 
cannot  possibly  get  them  wrong.  Get  so  you  do  not  feel 
at  home  in  any  other  position  than  the  correct  one. 
Avoid,  especially,  allowing  the  weight  to  rest  wholly  on 
the  back  foot,  with  the  front  knee  bent. 


LESSON    XI 
PAUSING 

WE  all  know  how  hard  it  is  to  follow  some  one  who  reads 
or  speaks  without  making  any  pauses  whatever.  This  shows 
how  important  the  matter  of  pause  really  is,  and  how  great 
an  advantage  it  is  to  a  speaker  to  be  skillful  in  choosing 
his  places  for  pausing. 

All  pause  depends  primarily  upon  thinking.  An  image, 
or  idea,  in  the  mind,  is  like  a  picture  thrown  upon  the  screen 
by  a  stereopticon,  or  magic  lantern,  and  the  whole  stream 
of  ideas  or  mental  images  that  passes  through  the  brain 
may  be  likened  to  a  series  of  dissolving  views  —  each  idea 
having  its  moment  of  greatest  vividness  or  brilliancy,  and  then 
gradually  fading  away  to  give  place  to  a  new  idea,  which 
in  turn  likewise  becomes  vivid  and  then  fades.  And  it 
will  readily  be  seen  that  just  as  much  confusion  will  be 
caused  by  attempting  to  have  two  ideas  in  the  mind  at  once 
as  would  be  caused  by  attempting  to  have  two  pictures  on 
the  screen  at  the  same  time.  The  mind  can  comprehend 
only  one  idea  at  a  time. 

This  shows  clearly  the  reason  for  our  pauses.  We  aim 
to  separate  our  images,  or  ideas,  and  in  order  to  do  so  we 
must  allow  a  little  time  for  one  image,  or  idea,  to  get  out 
of  the  way  before  another  is  called  up.  The  speaker  who 
runs  two  ideas  together  without  any  pause  between  them 
is  like  the  operator  who  throws  two  pictures  on  the  screen 
at  once  —  and  the  result  is  the  same ;  namely,  utter  con- 
fusion to  the  audience. 

43 


44  PAUSING 

CAUTION.  —  In  all  reading  or  speaking  it  is  important  to 
keep  the  lungs  nearly  full  of  air.  Breath  should  be  taken 
at  the  logical  pauses,  and  pauses  should  never  be  inserted 
merely  for  breath. 

From  what  has  now  been  said,  the  following  general 
law  for  pauses  may  easily  be  formed  : 

GENERAL  LAW  FOR  PAUSES.  —  The  words  conveying 
each  idea  should  be  grouped  together,  and  the  different 
groups  separated  from  each  other  by  pauses. 

To  illustrate :  In  the  sentence,  "  The  bridge  being 
burned,  the  train  left  the  track  and  plunged  into  the 
river,"  there  are  three  distinct  ideas,  which  are  easily 
recognized  by  the  following  grouping: 

The  bridge  being  burned,  the  train  left  the  track  and  plunged  into 


the  river. 

CAUTION.  —  Do  not  confuse  grammatical  and  logical 
pauses.  A  large  amount  of  the  punctuation  on  the  printed 
page  is  merely  to  show  grammatical  construction  and  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  pauses  made  to  show  the  meaning. 

CASE  I.  —  Do  not  pause  after  an  introductory  and,  for 
but,  if,  etc.,  when  followed  by  a  comma.  Example : 


For,  if  this  were  true,  he  would  know  it  now. 


If,  having  been  rebuked,  he  still  erred,  he  should  be  condemned. 

CASE  II.  —  Do  not  pause  after  an  introductory  that, 
when  introducing  a  subordinate  clause  and  followed  by 
a  comma.  Example: 


Charles  told  him  that,  however  cheap  it  was,  the  other  was  a  better 
bargain. 


PAUSING  45 

Before  attempting  to  locate  his  pauses,  or  to  execute 
them  aloud,  the  student  will  do  well  to  read  carefully  the 
following  very  applicable  quotation  : 

"The  intelligent  use  of  pausing  contributes  very  materi- 
ally to  artistic  and  effective  speech.  It  discloses  a  speak- 
er's method  of  thinking,  and  its  possibilities  are  almost  as 
varied  as  thought  itself.  Rapid  utterance,  unless  em- 
ployed specifically  to  portray  hasty  action,  is  usually  a  sign 
of  shallowness.  The  speaker  fails  to  weigh  or  measure  his 
thought,  and  skims  over  its  surface  in  undue  anxiety  to  ex- 
press what  is  in  his  mind.  The  school  boy  "speaking  his 
piece  "  on  Friday  afternoon  furnishes  a  good  illustration  of 
meaningless  declamation.  He  rushes  through  his  lines 
with  breathless  haste,  oftentimes  gabbling  the  last  few 
words  while  resuming  his  seat. 

"  Correct  pausing  is  the  result  of  clear  thinking.  In 
the  discussion  or  expression  of  the  weighty  and  important 
truths  of  a  regular  discourse,  a  trained  speaker  will  gen- 
erally use  a  slower  movement  and  appropriately  longer 
pauses."  -  KLEISER,  How  to  Speak  in  Public. 

Example  of  correct  pausing : 


True  eloquence,  indeed,  does  not  consist  in  speech.     It  cannot  be 


brought  from  far.  Labor  and  learning  may  toil  for  it,  but  they  will  toil 
in  vain.  Words  and  phrases  may  be  marshalled  in  every  way,  but  they 
cannot  compass  it.  It  must  exist  in  the  man,  in  the  subject,  and  in  the 
occasion.  Affected  passion,  intense  expression,  the  pomp  of  declamation, 
all  may  aspire  after  it ;  they  cannot  reach  it.  It  comes,  if  it  comes  at  all, 
like  the  outbreaking  of  a  fountain  from  the  earth,  or  the  bursting  forth 

of  volcanic  fires,  with  spontaneous,  original,  native  force. 

—  WEBSTER. 


46 


PAUSING 


SELECTION  FOR  MARKING  PAUSES 

Let  us  pause !  This  step,  once  taken,  cannot  be  retraced.  This  reso- 
lution, once  passed,  will  cut  off  all  hope  of  reconciliation.  If  success 
attend  the  arms  of  Engfand,  we  shall  then  be  no  longer  colonies,  with 
charters  and  with  privileges  :  these  will  all  be  forfeited  by  this  act ;  and 
we  shall  be  in  the  condition  of  other  conquered  peoples,  at  the  mercy  of 
the  conquerors.  For  ourselves/ we  may  be  ready  to  run  the  hazard  ;  but 
are  we  ready  to  carry  the  country  to  that  length?  Is  success  so  prob- 
able as  to  justify  it?  Where  is  the  military,  where  the  naval,  power  by 
which  we  are  to  resist  the  whole  strength  of  the  arm  of  England  ? 

EXERCISES 

31.  Position  Z>.  If  we  call  the  position  taken  in  Figure  I  Position 
A,  we  may  for  convenience  call  the  position  in  Figure  25,  Position  B. 
In  this  position  one  foot  is  placed  about  its  own  length  in  front  of  the 


FIG.  25.    A  good  position  B. 


FIG.  26.    A  bad  position  B. 
Toe  flat  on  the  floor. 


other  in  such  a  way  that  a  line  passing  through  it  from  toe  to  heel  would 
pass  through  the  heel  of  the  back  foot.  The  weight  is  placed  on  the 
forward  foot,  and  the  heel  of  the  back  foot  is  raised  and  allowed  to 
swing  inward,  the  feet  now  being  at  an  angle  of  about  90°,  that  is, 
forming  a  square  corner.  The  left  foot  should  rest  on  the  side  of  the 
ball,  not  flat  on  the  toe  as  in  Figure  26. 


PAUSING 


47 


32.  In  position  B,  either  the  right  foot  or  the  left  foot  may  be  for- 
ward.    Execute  it  both  ways. 

33.  From  Position  B   with  the  right  foot  forward,  change  to  the 
Position  B  with  the  left  foot  forward,  by  stepping  forward  with  the  left 
foot.     Repeat,  going  forward.     Face  about  and  go  through  the  same 


FIG.  27.  A  bad  position  B. 
Feet  too  close  and  line 
through  the  instep. 


FIG.  28.  A  moderately  good 
position  B,  but  the  toe 
pointing  a  little  too  directly 
toward  the  audience. 


exercise,  facing  the  back  of  the  room,  thus  getting  back  to  the  position 
from  which  you  started.  Do  not  step  too  far.  Do  not  allow  the  line 
to  pass  through  the  instep,  but  keep  it  through  the  heel.  (See  Fig.  27.) 
It  is  well,  also,  not  to  allow  the  forward  foot  to  point  directly  toward  the 
middle  of  the  audience,  as  shown  in  Figure  28. 


LESSON    XII 
PITCH 

DEGREE  OF  PITCH 

EVERYONE  has  noticed  that,  in  singing,  some  notes  are 
higher  or  lower  than  others,  but,  perhaps,  it  has  not  oc- 
curred to  some  that  in  speech  also  we  use  high  notes  and 
low  notes.  This  will  be  very  evident,  however,  if  the 
student  will  give  the  two  following  sentences  aloud : 

Ring  the  fire  bell  !     Rouse  the  People  ! 

'Tis  the  midnight's  holy  hour,  —  and  silence  now  is  brooding  o'er  the 
still  and  pulseless  world. 

In  the  first,  the  voice  will  be  high,  and  in  the  second 
low. 

This  part  of  Public  Speaking  which  deals  with  whether 
a  note  is  high  or  low  is  called ///^A. 

For  general  purposes,  the  compass  of  the  voice,  that  is, 
the  number  of  notes  it  can  cover  on  the  musical  scale  from 
its  lowest  note  to  its  highest,  is  divided  into  three  divisions, 
called  degrees  of  pitch.  These  are  high,  middle,  and  low. 
The  upper  third  of  the  notes  covered  by  the  voice  are  in 
high  degree  of  pitch,  the  middle  third  in  middle  degree  of 
pitch,  and  the  lower  third  in  low  degree  of  pitch. 

CAUTION.  —  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  exact  notes 
on  the  musical  scale  which  make  High  Degree  of  Pitch  or 
Low  Degree  of  Pitch  cannot  be  set  down.  The  matter  is 
relative,  and  what  might  be  high  pitch  for  one  person 

48 


PITCH.  49 

might  be  middle  pitch  for  another,  etc.  Each  speaker  has 
a  range  of  his  own,  and  he  should  not  try  to  imitate  that  of 
any  one  else.  If  a  selection  is  to  be  given  in  high  pitch, 
he  should  give  it  in  his  own  high  pitch. 

The  middle  degree  of  pitch  is  by  far  the  most  common. 
We  use  it  to  express  all  ordinary  thoughts,  where  there  is 
no  unusual  emotion. 

The  high  degree  of  pitch  may  be  used  for  gayety,  joy, 
laughter,  great  earnestness •,  courage ',  defiance,  alarm,  etc. 

The  low  degree  of  pitch  may  be  used  for  reverence*,  sub- 
limity, devotion,  deepest  solemnity,  awe,  veneration^,  dread, 
amazement,  horror,  etc. 

NOTE.  —  Of  course  these  different  degrees  shade  into  one  another 
and  some  sentiments  can  even  be  given  in  all  degrees,  but  the  ones 
given  above  will  be  found  largely  characteristic. 

HIGH 

Cry  Holiday  !  Holiday  !  let  us  be  gay, 

And  share  in  the  rapture  of  heaven  and  earth ; 

For,  see!  what  a  sunshiny  joy  they  display, 

To  welcome  the  spring  on  the  day  of  her  birth  ; 

While  the  eleuients,  gladly  outpouring  their  voice, 
Nature's  paean  proclaim,  and  in  chorus  rejoice! 

—  KLEISER. 

What  men,  what  patriots,  what  independent,  heroic  spirits!  — 
chosen  by  the  unbiased  voice  of  the  people ;  chosen,  as  all  public 
servants  ought  to  be,  without  favor  and  without  fear.  What  an  august 
assembly  of  sages  !  Rome,  in  the  height  of  her  glory,  fades  before  it. 
There  never  was,  in  any  age  or  nation,  a  body  of  men  who,  for  general 
information,  for  the  judicious  use  of  the  results  of  civil  and  political 
history,  for  eloquence  and  virtue,  for  true  dignity,  elevation  and 
grandeur  of  soul,  could  stand  a  comparison  with  the  first  American 
Congress.  See  what  the  people  will  do  when  left  to  themselves ;  to 
their  unbiased  good  sense,  and  to  their  true  interests  !  The  ferocious 
Gaul  would  have  dropped  his  sword  at  the  hall  door,  and  have  fled 
thunderstruck  as  from  an  assembly  of  gods  ! 
PUB.  SPEAK.  —  4 


50  9  PITCH 

Whom  do  I  behold  ?  A  Hancock,  a  Jefferson,  an  Adams,  a  Henry, 
a  Lee,  a  Rutledge  !  —  Glory  to  their  immortal  spirits  !  On  you  depend 
the  destinies  of  your  country,  the  fate  of  three  millions  of  men  and  the 
countless  millions  of  their  posterity  !  Shall  these  be  slaves,  or  will  you 
make  a  noble  stand  for  liberty,  against  a  power  whose  triumphs  are 
already  coextensive  with  the  earth ;  whose  legions  trample  on  thrones 
and  scepters  ;  whose  thunders  bellow  on  every  ocean  ?  How  tremen- 
dous the  occasion  !  How  vast  the  responsibility  ! 

—  JONATHAN  MAXCY,  The  First  American  Congress. 

MIDDLE 

One  raw  morning  in  spring —  it  will  be  eighty  years  the  iQth  of  this 
month  —  Hancock  and  Adams,  the  Moses  and  Aaron  of  the  Great 
Deliverance,  were  both  at  Lexington ;  they  also  had  "  obstructed  an 
officer"  with  brave  words.  British  soldiers,  a  thousand  strong,  came 
to  seize  them  and  carry  them  over  sea  for  trial,  and  so  nip  the  bud  of 
Freedom  auspiciously  opening  in  that  early  spring.  The  town  militia 
came  together  before  daylight,  "  for  training/1  A  great  tall  man,  with 
large  head  and  a  high,  wide  brow,  their  captain,  —  one  who  had  "seen 
service,"  —  marshaled  them  into  line,  numbering  but  seventy,  and 
bade  "  every  man  load  his  piece  with  powder  and  ball.  I  will  order  the 
first  man  shot  that  runs  away,"  said  he,  when  some  faltered.  "  Don't 
fire,  unless  fired  upon,  but  if  they  want  to  have  a  war,  let  it  begin  here." 
—  THEODORE  PARKER,  Reminiscences  of  Lexington. 

LOW 

All  is  peace.  The  heights  of  yonder  metropolis,  its  towers  and  roofs, 
which  you  then  saw  filled  with  wives  and  children  and  countrymen  in 
distress  and  terror,  and  looking  with  unutterable  emotions  for  the  issue 
of  the  combat,  have  presented  you  to-day  with  the  sight  of  its  whole 
population,  come  out  to  welcome  and  greet  you  with  a  universal  jubilee. 
Yonder  proud  ships,  by  a  felicity  of  position  appropriately  lying  at  the 
foot  of  this  mount,  and  seeming  fondly  to  cling  round  it,  are  not  means 
of  annoyance  to  you,  but  your  country's  own  means  of  distinction  and 
defense. 

All  is  peace  ;  and  God  has  granted  you  this  sight  of  your  country's 
happiness,  ere  you  slumber  in  the  grave.  "He  has  allowed  you  to  be- 
hold and  to  partake  of  the  reward  of  your  patriotic  toils ;  and  he  has 
allowed  us,  your  sons  and  countymen,  to  meet  you  here,  and  in  the  name 


PITCH  5 1 

of  the  present  generation,  in  the  name  of  your  country,  in  the  name  of 
liberty,  to  thank  you  !  —  WEBSTER,  Bunker  Hill  Oration. 

EXERCISES 

34.  By  singing  Ex.  13,  determine  the  compass  of  your  voice.     After 
this  is  done,  take  the  sentence,  "Ring  the  alarm  bell  !  "  and  give  it  on 
every  half  note  from  the  middle  of  your  compass  to  its  highest  note. 
Likewise  take  the  sentence,  "  'Tis  midnight's  holy  hour,'1  and  give  it 
from  your  middle  note  to  your  lowest  note.     Do  not  sing  the  sentences, 
but  speak  them  upon  the  keynote. 

35.  Taking  an  octave  that  is  easily  within  your  compass,  practice 
Ex.   13,  first  sliding  or  slurring  up  the  octave,  and  then,  immediately 
after,  before  taking  the  next  syllable,  sliding  or  slurring  down  again. 
Your  course  will  then  somewhat  resemble  the  following  diagram  : 


You  may  increase  the  slide,  if  you  wish.     First  take  the  slides  slowly ; 
afterwards  you  may  give  them  faster. 


LESSON    XIII 
RATE 

PROBABLY  nothing  is  more  noticeable  to  the  ordinary 
listener  than  the  rate  at  which  an  orator  speaks.  "  He 
speaks  so  fast,"  we  often  hear  people  say,  or  "  Didn't  he 
speak  slowly  !  "  Some  people  naturally  speak  faster  than 
others,  but  no  matter  whether  a  person  naturally  speaks 
slowly  or  fast, .  he  should  not  always  speak  at  the  same 
rate.  There  are  times  when  he  should  speak  slowly  (for 
him)  and  times  at  which  he  should  speak  faster.  This  is 
governed  by  laws  which  are  given  below. 

There   are   three   rates :    rapid,  medium,  and  slow. 
There  are,  of  course,  no  hard  and  fast  lines.     The  differ- 
ent rates  blend  into  one  another. 

Rapid  rate  is  used  for  gayety,  joy,  excitement,  alarm, 
picturing  rapid  action,  etc.  Examples  : 

A  hurry  of  hoofs  in  the  village  street, 
A  shape  in  the  moonlight,  a  bulk  in  the  dark, 
And  beneath,  from  the  pebbles,  in  passing,  a  spark, 
Struck  out  by  a  steed  flying  fearless  and  fleet. 

—  LONGFELLOW. 

Now  you  see  the  water  foaming  all  around.  See  how  fast  you  pass 
that  point!  Up  with  the  helm!  Now  turn!  Pull  hard!  Quick! 
quick  !  quick  !  Pull  for  your  lives  !  Pull  till  the  blood  starts  from  your 
nostrils,  and  the  veins  stand  like  whipcords  on  your  brow  !  Set  the 
mast  in  the  socket  !  hoist  the  sail !  Ah !  ah !  it  is  too  late!  Shrieking, 
cursing,  howling,  blaspheming,  over  they  gol — JOHN  B.  GOUGH. 

Across  the  valley  the  Southern  line  of  attack  is  forming,  —  a  splendid 
column  three  miles  long,  their  silken  banners  unfurled  to  the  breeze,  a 

52 


RATE  53 

bristling  mass  of  bayonets  glittering  in  the  sunlight.  With  majestic 
movement  the  veteran  army  advances  on  the  Union  line.  Their  can- 
non cease  firing.  Instantly  the  deserted  guns  are  manned.  The  whole 
line  of  Federal  batteries  pour  shot  and  shell  into  the  advancing  ranks 
Awful  gaps  are  made,  but  quickly  closed,  and  the  long  line  comes  swiftly 
on.  The  Union  infantry  have  hurriedly  re-formed  along  the  summit  of 
the  ridge.  Up  the  slopes  come  the  Southern  ranks.  Their  lines  of 
glistening  steel  sweep  on  like  waves  of  death  and  destruction.  They 
hurl  back  the  Union  advance.  On  they  come  toward  the  main  line.  A 
flash  of  smoky  flame,  a  deafening  roar,  and  twenty  thousand  Union  guns 
pour  forth  a  flood  of  leaden  death.  The  Southern  ranks  go  down  under 
that  awful  fire  like  fields  of  grain  swept  by  the  tornado's  blast.  Flesh 
and  blood  cannot  face  such  carnage.  Whole  companies  rush  into  the 
Union  lines  and  throw  down  their  arms.  The  remnant  of  that  splendid 
eighty  thousand  hurries  in  full  retreat  back  across  the  valley,  shattered 
and  broken.  The  Confederacy  has  reached  its  height!  Slavery  has 
fallen  !  Victory  is  with  democracy  !  —  College  Oration. 

Medium  rate  is  used  for  conversation,  and  all  speaking 
where  there  are  no  unusual  emotions.  Example  : 

The  people  always  conquer.  They  always  must  conquer.  Armies 
may  be  defeated,  kings  may  be  overthrown,  and  new  dynasties  imposed, 
by  foreign  arms,  on  an  ignorant  and  slavish  race,  that  care  not  in  what 
language  the  covenant  of  their  subjection  runs,  nor  in  whose  name  the 
deed  of  their  barter  and  sale  is  made  out.  But  the  people  never  invade  ; 
and  when  they  rise  against  the  invader,  are  never  subdued. 

—  EVERETT. 

Slow  rate  is  used  to  express*  devotion,  solemnity,  rever- 
ence, aive,  veneration,  dread,  amazement,  etc.  Examples  : 

Sunset  and  evening  star, 

And  one  clear  call  for  me  ! 
And  may  there  be  no  moaning  of  the  bar, 

When  I  put  out  to  sea. 

But  such  a  tide  as  moving  seems  asleep, 

Too  full  for  sound  and  foam, 
When  that  which  drew  from  out  the  boundless  deep 

Turns  again  home.  — TENNYSON. 


54  RATE 

As  the  end  drew  near,  his  early  craving  for  the  sea  returned.  The 
stately  mansion  of  power  had  been  to  him  the  weary  hospital  of  pain, 
and  he  begged  to  be  taken  from  its  prison  walls,  from  its  oppressive 
stifling  air,  from  its  homelessness  and  its  hopelessness.  Gently, 
silently,  the  love  of  a  great  people  bore  the  pale  sufferer  to  the  longed- 
for  healing  of  the  sea,  to  live  or  to  die,  as  God  should  will.  Within 
sight  of  its  heaving  billows,  within  sound  of  its  manifold  voices,  with 
wan,  fevered  face,  tenderly  lifted  to  the  cooling  breeze,  he  looked  out 
wistfully  upon  the  ocean's  changing  wonders,  on  its  far  sails  whitening 
in  the  morning  light,  on  its  restless  waves  rolling  shoreward  to  break 
and  die  beneath  the  noonday  sun,  on  the  red  clouds  of  evening  arching 
low  to  the  horizon,  on  the  serene  and  shining  pathway  of  the  stars. 
Let  us  think  that  his  dying  eyes  read  a  mystic  meaning,  which  only  the 
rapt  and  parting  soul  may  know.  Let  us  believe  that,  in  the  silence  of 
the  receding  world,  he  heard  the  great  wave  breaking  on  a  farther 
shore,  and  felt  already  on  his  wasted  brow  the  breath  of  the  eternal 
morning. —  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

An  example  of  the  combination  of  rapid  rate  with  slow 
rate  is  found  in  the  following : 

There  came  a  dark  night  when  Columbus  stood  at  the  lookout  alone. 
Before  and  behind  him  stretched  the  black  waters  in  limitless  expanse. 
The  admiral's  white  head  was  bent  with  care.  Already  they  had  sailed 
farther  than  he  had  ever  dreamed  that  ship  could  sail,  —  and  yetjip-^ 
land.  What  would J)e  the  end?  What  would  come  of  the  murmurings 
and  the  black  looks  on  every  side?  Did  failure  stare  him  in  the  face? 
But,  as  he  raised  his  head,  he  thought  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  light 
carried  by  an  unseen  hand  on  a  distant  shore.  He  shouted,  "  AJjght! 
A  Jight!  "  He  woke  the  crew.  Cries  of  "  LandJ^Lan.d!  "  rang  from 
ship  to  ship.  Not  an  eye  was  closed  again  thaFltigrTtT  All  was  excite- 
ment, and  as  the  day  dawned,  land  stretched  before  them !  Christopher 
Columbus  had  reached  his  goal.  His  idea  was  vindicated,  his  dream 
fulfilled!  On  the  virgin  soil  of  a  new  world,  he  knelt  and  gave  thanks 
to  God. —  College  Oration. 


LESSON    XIV 
PAUSING 

IN  addition  to  the  general  law  for  pauses,  mentioned  in 
Lesson  XI,  it  may  be  well  for  the  student  to  note  a  few  of 
the  specific  cases  that  fall  within  that  law. 

CASE  I.  —  Pause  to  separate  clauses  and  words  in  a 
series. 

This  case  obviously  comes  very  directly  under  the  gen- 
eral law.  A  clause,  by  its  very  name,  incloses,  or  contains, 
a  single  thought,  and  should  therefore  be  separated  from 
the  clauses  that  are  before  and  after  it.  Likewise,  in  a 
series  of  words,  each  word  contains  a  single  idea,  and 
should  therefore  be  treated  in  a  similar  manner.  Example 
of  pause  between  clauses  : 

If,  then,  the  power  of  speech  is  a  gift  as  great  as  any  that  can  be 
named,  /  —  if  the  origin  of  language  is  by  many  philosophers  even  consid- 
ered to  be  nothing  short  of  divine,  /  — if  by  means  of  words  the  secrets 
of  the  heart  are  brought  to  light,  /  pain  of  soul  is  relieved,  /  hidden  grief 
is  carried  off,  /  sympathy  conveyed,  /  counsel  imparted,  /  experience 
recorded,  /  and  wisdom  perpetuated,  /  —  if  by  great  authors  the  many 
are  drawn  up  into  unity,  /  national  character  is  fixed,  /  a  people  speaks,  / 
the  past  and  the  future,  the  East  and  the  West,  are  brought  into  com- 
munication with  each  other,  /  — if  such  men  are,  in  a  word,  the  spokes- 
men and  prophets  of  the  human  family,  /  —  it  will  not  answer  to  make 
light  of  Literature  or  to  neglect  its  study ;  /  rather  we  may  be  sure  / 
that,  in  proportion  as  we  master  it  in  whatever  language,  /  and  imbibe 
its  spirit,  /  we  shall  ourselves  become  in  our  own  measure  the  ministers 
of  like  benefits  to  others,  /  be  they  many  or  few,  /  be  they  in  the  obscurer 
or  the  more  distinguished  walks  of  life,  /  —  who  are  united  to  us  by 
social  ties,  /  and  are  within  the  sphere  of  our  personal  influence. 

—  CARDINAL  NEWMAN. 
55 


56  PAUSING 

Examples  of  pause  between  words  of  a  series : 

The  store,  /  the  office,  /  the  factory,  /  the  farm,  /  —  all  contribute  to 
this  vast  audience. 

She  was  sent  to  the  store  to  buy  eggs,  /  sugar,  /  butter,  /  and  coffee. 
The  charge  is  utterly,  /  totally,  /  and  meanly  /  false. 

CASE  II.  —  Pause  to  mark  unusual  rhetorical  or  gram- 
matical constructions. 

Under  this  case  come  the  pauses  that  we  all  make  when 
we  find  words  omitted,  or  words  out  of  their  natural  order. 
The  reason  for  such  pauses  is  clear.  For  a  moment  the 
mind  is  uncertain  just  what  is  meant;  that  is,  the  mental 
image  or  idea  is  blurred,  and  some  interval  of  time,  be  it 
ever  so  small,  is  needed  to  make  the  proper  mental  adjust- 
ment. Such  pauses  serve  to  say  to  the  audience,  "  Now, 
watch  this  picture  carefully  in  order  to  see  what  it  really 
is."  They  also  serve  to  hold  the  idea  a  little  longer  before 
the  mind's  eye,  in  order  that  we  may  comprehend  it  more 
completely.  Example  of  words  omitted  : 

A  people  /  once  enslaved  /  may  groan  ages  in  bondage. 

NOTE.  —  The  second  pause  in  the  above  sentence  is,  of  course,  due 
to  a  different  cause. 

The  night  has  a  thousand  eyes, 
The  day  /  but  one. 

Example  of  words  out  of  their  natural  order : 

She  was  a  Prince's  child, 
I  but  a  Viking,  /  wild. 

I  am  now  what  most  folks  /  well-to-do  /  would  call. 
EXERCISES  FOR  LOCATING  PAUSES 

Let  the  student  copy  the  following  and  locate  the  pauses 
by  drawing  a  slanting  straight  line  between  the  words 
where  the  pauses  occur.  Let  those  pauses  which  come 
under  the  cases  already  given  be  indicated  by  number  at 


PAUSING  57 


the  top  of  the  line,  as,  He  came,  l/  but  it  was  too  late  ;  show- 
ing that  this  pause  comes  under  Case  I. 


The  eujsgiurn  pronounced  on  the  character  of  the  state  of  South 
Carolina/  by  the  honorable  gentleman,'Tor  her  revolutionary  and  other 
merits,  meets  my  hearty  concurrence.  I  shall  not  acknowledge  that  the 
honorable  gentleman"  goes  before  me^in  regard  for  whatever  of  dis- 
tinguished talent  or  distinguished  character  South  Carolina  has  pro- 
duced. I  claim  a  part  of  the  honor  ;  I  partake  in  the  pride  of  her  great 
name.  I  claim'  them  for  countrymen,  one  and  all.  The  Laurences,  the 
Rutledges,  the  Pinckneys,  the  Sumters,  the  Marions,  —  Americans,  all, 
—  whose  fame  is  no  more  to  be  hemmed  in  by  State  lines,  than  their 
talents  and  patriotism  were  capable  of  being  circumscribed  within  the 
same  narrow  limits. 

In  their  day  and  generation,  they  served  and  honored  the  country 
and  the  whole  country  ;  and  their  renown  is  of  the  treasures  of  the 
whole  country.  Him  whose  name  the  gentleman  himself  bears,  —  does 
he  suppose  me  less  capable  of  gratitude  for  his  patriotism,  or  sympathy 
for  his  sufferings,  than  if  his  eye  had  first  opened  upon  the  light  in 
Massachusetts,  instead  of  South  Carolina  ?  Sir,  does  he  suppose  it  is 
in  his  power  to  exhibit  a  Carolina  name  so  bright  as  to  produce  envy  in 
my  bosom  ?  No,  Sir  :  increased  gratification  and  delight,  rather.  Sir, 
I  thank  God  that,  if  I  am  gifted  with  little  of  the  spirit  which  is  said  to 
be  able  to  raise  mortals  to  the  skies,  I  have  yet  none,  as  I  trust,  of  that 
other  spirit  which  would  drag  angels  down.  —  WEBSTER. 


f,  • 


LESSON    XV 
PAUSING—  Continued 

CASE  III. —  Pause  to  mark  appositives,  parenthetical  ex- 
pressions, direct  quotations,  and  words  used  independently. 

Pauses  under  this  case  are  used  to  designate  words  of 
different  value  from  those  used  to  convey  the  regular  flow 
of  the  speaker's  thought.  They  serve  to  say  to  the  audience : 
"  Here  my  thought  is  interrupted  (in  the  case  of  apposi- 
tives or  parenthetical  expressions)  to  add  some  explana- 
tory matter,  or  (in  case  of  words  used  independently)  to 
call  attention,  or  (in  the  case  of  a  quotation)  to  insert  the 
words  of  another,"  and  they  mark  the  beginning  and  end 
of  such  interruptions.  Examples  : 

(a)  Words  in  apposition. 

Orsino,  /  noble  sir,  / 

Be  pleased  I  shake  off  these  names  you  give  me. 
Caesar  sent  his  lieutenant,  /  Titus  Labienus,  /  to  attend  to  these  af- 
fairs. 

(b)  Parenthetical  expressions. 

The  time  is  coming,  is  almost  here,  when  hanging  above  many  a 
mantel  board  in  fair  New  England  /  — glorifying  many  a  cottage  in  the 
sunny  south  /  — shall  be  seen  bound  together  in  everlasting  love  and 
honor  two  cross-swords  carried  to  battle  respectively  by  the  grandfather 
that  wore  the  blue  and  the  grandfather  that  wore  the  gray. 

—  WATTERSON. 

You  cannot,  —     I  venture  to  say  it  /  —  you  cannot  conquer  America ! 

—  PITT. 
58 


PAUSING  59 

Then  muttered  the  mate,  /  "  I'm  a  man  of  Devon  ! "  / 

And  the  captain  thundered  then  :  / 
"  There's  English  rope  that  bides  our  necks, 

But  we  all  be  Englishmen  !  "  —  ROBERTS. 

I  am  asked,  /  "  Would  you  render  the  judges  superior  to  the  legis- 
lature ?"  /  I  answer,  /  "No;  but  coordinate.11 

(c)    Words  used  independently. 
John,  /  retire  at  once. 

Gentlemen,  /  I  hope  I  have  performed  my  duty  to  my  client. 
The  Puritans  /  —  there  is  a  charm  in  that  word  which  will  never 
be  lost  on  a  New  England  ear. 

CASE  IV.  —  Pause  for  impressiveness. 

Oftentimes  a  speaker  wishes  to  make  a  mental  image, 
or  idea,  especially  impressive.  In  such  cases,  of  course, 
his  problem  is  to  hold  the  mental  image  for  some  time  be- 
fore his  audience,  and  in  such  a  way  as  to  increase  its 
vividness.  This  may  be  done,  first,  by  clearing  the  mind, 
by  means  of  a  pause,  of  all  other  images  ;  and  second,  by 
giving  this  idea  time  to  become  vivid  by  inserting  a  pause 
before  any  other  idea  is  given.  Examples  : 

You  cannot,  —  /I  venture  to  say  it  —  /  you  cannot  conquer  America. 

I  tell  you  plainly  that  the  bill,  should  it  pass,  cannot  be  enforced. 
It  will  prove  only  a  blot  /  on  your  statute  book,  a  reproach  /  to  the  year, 
and  a  disgrace  /  to  the  American  Senate.  I  repeat,  /  it  will  not  /  be 
executed  ;  it  will  rouse  the  dormant  spirit  of  the  people,  and  open  their 
eyes  to  the  approach  of  despotism.  The  country  has  sunk  into  avarice 
/  and  political  corruption,  /  from  which  nothing  can  rouse  it  but  some 
measure,  on  the  part  of  the  Government,  of  folly  /  and  madness,  /  such 
as  that  now  under  consideration.  —  J.  C.  CALHOUN. 

EXERCISES  FOR  LOCATING  PAUSES 

Let  the  student  copy  the  following,  mark  the  pauses, 
and  number  them  according  to  the  cases  under  which  they 
come. 


60  PAUSING 

Mr.  President :  The  stoutest  apostle  of  the  church,  they  say,  is  the 
missionary,  and  the  missionary,  wherever  he  unfurls  his  flag,  will  never 
find  himself  in  deeper  need  of  unction  and  address  than  I,  bidden 
to-night  to  plant  the  standard  of  a  Southern  Democrat  in  Boston's 
banquet  hall,  and  discuss  the  problem  of  the  races  in  the  home  of 
Phillips  and  of  Sumner.  But,  Mr.  President,  if  a  purpose  to  speak  in 
perfect  frankness  and  sincerity;  if  earnest  understanding  of  the  vast 
interests  involved  ;  if  a  consecrating  sense  of  what  disaster  may  follow 
further  misunderstanding  and  estrangement,  if  these  may  be  counted  to 
steady  undisciplined  speech  and  to  strengthen  an  untried  arm,  —  then, 
Sir,  I  find  courage  to  proceed.  —  GRADY. 

If  I  were  to  tell  you  the  story  of  Napoleon,  I  should  take  it  from  the 
lips  of  Frenchmen,  who  find  no  language  rich  enough  to  paint  the  great 
captain  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Were  I  to  tell  you  the  story  of 
Washington,  I  should  take  it  from  your  hearts,  —  you,  who  think  no 
marble  white  enough  on  which  to  carve  the  name  of  the  Father  of  his 
country.  But  I  am  to  tell  you  the  story  of  a  negro,  Toussaint  L'Ouver- 
ture,  who  has  left  hardly  one  written  line.  I  am  to  glean  it  from  the 
reluctant  testimony  of  his  enemies,  men  who  despised  him  because  he 
was  a  negro  and  a  slave,  hated  him  because  he  had  beaten  them  in 
battle. 

Cromwell  manufactured  his  own  army.  Napoleon,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-seven,  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  best  troops  Europe  ever  saw. 
Cromwell  never  saw  an  army  till  he  was  forty ;  this  man  never  saw  a 
soldier  till  he  was  fifty.  Cromwell  manufactured  his  own  army  —  out 
of  what?  Englishmen  —  the  best  blood  in  Europe.  Out  of  the  middle 
class  of  Englishmen,  —  the  best  blood  of  the  Island.  And  with  it  he 
conquered  what?  Englishmen,  —  their  equals.  This  man  manufac- 
tured his  army  out  of  what?  Out  of  what  you  call  the  despicable  race  of 
negroes,  debased,  demoralized,  by  two  hundred  years  of  slavery,  one 
hundred  thousand  of  them  imported  into  the  island  within  four  years, 
'unable  to  speak  a  dialect  intelligible  even  to  each  other.  Yet  out  of 
this  mixed,  and,  as  you  say,  despicable  mass  he  forged  a  thunderbolt, 
and  hurled  it  at  what?  At  the  proudest  blood  in  Europe,  the  Spaniard, 
and  sent  him  home  conquered ;  at  the  most  warlike  blood  in  Europe, 
the  French,  and  put  them  under  his  feet;  at  the  pluckiest  blood  in 
Europe,  the  English,  and  they  skulked  home  to  Jamaica.  Now,  if 
Cromwell  was  a  general,  at  least  this  man  wa^Ta  soldier. 

Now,  blue- eyed  Saxon,  proud  of  your  race,  go  back  with  me  to  the 
commencement  of  the  century,  and  select  what  statesman  you  please. 


PAUSING  6l 

Let  him  be  either  European  or  American ;  let  him  have  a  brain  the 
result  of  six  generations  of  culture;  let  him  have  the  ripest  training 
of  university  routine;  let  him  add  to  it,  the  better  education  of  practical 
life ;  crown  his  temples  with  the  silver  locks  of  seventy  years,  and  show 
me  the  man  of  Saxon  lineage  for  whom  his  most  sanguine  admirer 
will  wreathe  a  laurel,  rich  as  embittered  foes  have  placed  on  the  brow 
of  this  negro,  —  rare  military  skill,  profound  knowledge  of  human 
nature,  content  to  blot  out  all  party  distinctions,  and  trust  a  state  to  the 
blood  of  its  sons,  —  anticipating  Sir  Robert  Peel  fifty  years,  and  taking 
his  stand  by  the  side  of  Roger  Williams,  before  any  Englishman  or 
American  had  won  that  right ;  and  yet  this  is  the  record  which  the 
history  of  rival  states  makes  up  for  this  inspired  black  of  San  Domingo. 

—  WENDELL  PHILLIPS. 


I 


LESSON    XVI 
BEGINNINGS   OF   GESTURE.     POINTING 

WE  all  know  that  the  words  we  utter  are  often  only  part 
of  what  we  really  say.  By  different  movements  of  the 
hands,  by  our  attitudes,  by  the  glance  of  the  eye  or  the 
flush  of  the  cheek,  we  add  to  or  subtract  from  the  meaning 
set  down  in  the  mere  words.  This  is  but  natural ;  we  all 
do  it  unconsciously. 

Why,  then,  must  we  study  gesture,  you  ask.  Why  not 
let  gesture  take  care  of  itself  ?  The  question  is  a  just  one, 
and  what  we  really  try  to  do  is  to  let  action  take  care  of 
itself.  But  every  young  person,  for  some  unknown  cause, 
—  we  call  it  embarrassment,  —  immediately  upon  appearing 
before  a  larger  number  of  his  fellows  than  usual,  seems  to 
lose  all  naturalness.  If  he  does  succeed  in  saying  some- 
thing, as  far  as  action  goes,  he  is  struck  dumb.  His  feet 
seem  glued  to  the  floor,  and  his  hands  are  hopelessly  tied 
to  his  body.  To  overcome  this  peculiar  state  is  the 
problem  that  confronts  the  public  speaker.  He  must 
observe  how  people  act  ordinarily,  how  he  himself  acts, 
and  then  transfer  these  movements  to  his  public  appear- 
ances. By  constant  practice  his  embarrassment  will  dis- 
appear, and  graceful,  forceful  expression  will  succeed. 

THE  INDEX  HAND  (THE  POINTING  HAND) 

One  of  the  most  common  things  we  do  in  everyday  life 
is  to  point  to  things.  The  position^of  the  hand  in  this 
pointing  is  generally  known  to  public  speakers  as  the 
index  position,  or  the  index  hand. 

62 


BEGINNINGS   OF   GESTURE 


In  the  most  common  form  of  the  index  hand,  the  fore- 
ringer  is  extended,  while  the  other  fingers  are  curved  in 


FlG.  29.    The  common 
index. 


FlG.  30.    The  directing 
index. 


different  degrees  toward  the  palm,  the  thumb  resting  upon 
the  first  joint  of  the  middle  finger.  The  palm  is  about 
vertical.  See  Figure  29.  The  fore- 
finger should  not  be  absolutely  straight, 
but  should  rest  in  an  easy  curve. 

Sometimes,  if  it  is  desired  to  em- 
phasize the  directing  power  of  the 
index,  the  hand  may  be  turned  over 
until  the  palm  is  horizontal  and  the 
thumb  down.  (See  Fig.  30.) 

When  a  person  becomes  very  ani- 
mated, the  thumb  rises,  the  degree  of 
animation  determining  the  amount 
that  the  thumb  is  raised. 

But  when  we  know  how  the  index  hand  itself  is  formed, 
we  have  really  only  the  least  part  of  a  pointing  gesture. 

First :  Getting  ready.  —  The  hand  must  be  moved  from 
the  side  of  the  body  to  the  place  where  we  wish  to  use  the 
gesture.  This  should  be  done  in  a  straight  line,  that  is, 


FlG.  31.     The  animated 
index. 


64  BEGINNINGS    OF   GESTURE 

the  hand  should  not  go  in  a  roundabout  way  to   get  to 

its  destination. 

Second:  The  gesture  itself .  —  After  the  hand  has  been 

raised  in  preparation,  there  comes  a  sweep  of  the  arm  to 

the  final  destination  of  the  gesture. 

Third:  The  finish. — When  the  hand  has  reached  its 

destination,  there  should 
be  a  sort  of  stroke,  or 
definite  final  impulse. 
This  should  occur  on 
the  accented  syllable  of 
the  emphatic  word. 

Fourth:  After  the  ges- 
ture. —  After  the  ges- 
ture is  finished,  the  hand 
should  return  to  the  side. 
It  is  very  easy  in  this 
part  of  the  gesture  to 
exercise  too  little  or  too 

FIG.  32.    The  completed  gesture. 

much   control  over  the 

hand.     A  good  rule  is  to  let  it  fall,  —  but  keep  a  brake  on 
it.     Give  it  a  retarded  fall. 

CAUTION  No.  i.  —  In  the  completed  gesture,  unless  em- 
phatic, avoid  a  straight  arm.  Let  the  arm  be  broken  at  the 
elbow,  and  also  at  the  wrist.  (See  Fig.  32.) 

CAUTION  No.  2.  — In  making  the  stroke,  do  not  turn  the 
hand  over,  so  the  palm  is  horizontal  and  the  thumb  up. 

CAUTION  No.  3.  —  Be  sure  to  get  the  wrist  loose.  Some 
speakers  use  the  hand  and  forearm  as  if  it  were  one  long, 
straight  rod.  Get  free  movement  at  the  wrist.  (See  Fig.  33. ) 

CAUTION  No.  4.  —  Don't  poke  or  punch.  Let  the  stroke 
be  vertical,  up  and  down,  and  not  toward  the  audience  or 
the  thing  pointed  to. 


BEGINNINGS   OF   GESTURE 


Gestures  made  with  the  index  hand  are  not 

mere  pointing,  although  all  may  be  traced  to 

are  also  used  in  counting,  enumerat- 

•  ing,  designating  ;  in  caution,  reproach, 

and  warning.     Examples  : 

Ordinary  Index  : 

Yonder  is  the  church  spire. 

There  is  the  very  picture  he  spoke  of. 

Whose  hat  is  that  ? 

Directing  Index : 

Go  down  that  street  and  turn  to  your  right. 
Away  !     Get  you  gone  ! 


confined  to 
this.     They 


Animated  Index : 

To  prison  with  him  !     Not  another  word  ! 
Sir  !     There  is  the  door  !     Never  venture 
into  my  house  again  ! 


GESTURES  OF  THE  INDEX  HAND  IN 
DEBATE  AND  ORATORY 


FIG.  33.  The  right  and  the 
wrong  way  of  using  the 
index  hand.  The  small 
arc  ab  shows  the  correct 
path  of  the  finger,  in  mak- 
ing the  stroke  of  the  ges- 
ture, the  center  being  at 
the  wrist.  The  large  arc 
AB  shows  the  path  of  the 
finger  when  the  wrist  is 
held  rigid  and  the  center 
of  the  movement  is  at  the 
elbow.  This  latter  method 
of  using  the  index  is  to  be 
avoided. 


Now,  Honorable  Judges,  here  is  a  point 
that  I  wish  you  to  consider. 

First,  Honorable  Judges,  it  is  unsatisfac- 
tory. Second,  it  is  contrary  to  approved 
principles. 

Is  it  not  the  same  virtue  which  does  everything  for  us  here  in  Eng- 
land ?  Do  you  imagine  that  it  is  the  Land  Tax  Act  which  raises  your 
revenue  ?  that  it  is  the  annual  vote  in  the  Committee  of  Supply  which 
gives  you  your  army  ?  or  that  it  is  the  Mutiny  Bill  which  inspires  it  with 
bravery  and  discipline  ?  No  !  surely  no  !  It  is  the  love  of  the  people ; 
it  is  their  attachment  to  their  government,  from  the  sense  of  the  deep 
stake  they  have  in  such  a  glorious  institution,  which  gives  you  your 
army  and  your  navy,  and  infuses  into  both  that  liberal  obedience,  with- 
out which  your  army  would  be  a  base  rabble,  and  your  navy  nothing  but 
rotten  timber.  — EDMUND  BURKE. 

Why  do  we  longer  delay?      Why  do  we  still  deliberate  ?     Let  us 
PUB.  SPEAK.  —  5 


66  BEGINNINGS   OF   GESTURE 

complete  the  enterprise  already  so  well  commenced  ;  and  since  our 
union  with  England  can  no  longer  consist  with  that  liberty  and  peace 
which  are  our  chief  delight,  let  us  dissolve  these  fatal  ties  and  conquer 
forever  that  good  which  we  already  enjoy  —  an  entire  and  absolute 
independence.  —  RICHARD  HENRY  LEE. 

EXERCISES 

36.  Form  the  three  kinds  of  index  hand,  first  with  the  right  hand 
then  with  the  left. 

37.  With  the  right  hand  in  the  first  form  of  the  index,  point  one 
after  the  other  to  the  floor,  the  window,  and  the  ceiling.     Do  this  first 
far  to  the  right,  and  then  nearly  in  front  of  you.     Do  the  same  with 
the  left  hand.     When  you  use  your  right  hand,  stand  with  your  right 
foot  forward ;  when  you  use  your  left,  stand  with  your  left  foot  forward. 
As  you  point,  say  the  words,  "The  floor,  the  window,  the  ceiling.1'     Be 
sure  to  strike  on  floor,  win-,  ceil-. 

38.  Pointing  to  the  wall  in  front  of  you  near  the  ceiling,  with  your 
right  hand,  first  far  to  the  left,  then  in  the  middle,  and  then  far  to  the 
right,  say,  "  That  corner,  the  middle,  and  that  corner."     Repeat  with 
the  left  hand,  starting  at  the  extreme  right.    Change  your  position  when 
you  change  hands.     Strike  on  that,  mid-,  and  that. 


LESSON    XVII 
FORCE 

How  TO  APPLY  IT 

IT  is  evident  to  everyone  that  we  use  force  in  speaking, 
—  we  exert  power  in  sending  words  out  from  the  vocal 
organs.  The  zvay  we  exert  this  force  is  not  so  commonly 
observed. 

In  general,  there  are  three  ways  of  exerting  force,  ist. 
We  may  apply  it  gradually,  smoothly,  evenly,  and  gently. 
2d.  We  may  apply  it  very  abruptly,  so  that  the  sound 
seems  to  burst  forth.  $d.  We  may  apply  it  as  we  do 
in  our  everyday  talk,  which  is  neither  gradually  and 
smoothly,  nor  yet  abruptly,  but  between  the  two. 

We  apply  force  gradually,  smoothly,  gently,  evenly,  in 
such  sentiments  as  reverence,  feebleness,  suppressed  fear, 
awe,  etc.,  and  when  our  moods  are  tinged  with  sadness. 
The  way  force  is  applied  in  these  sentiments  might  very 
well  be  represented  by  a  gently  rolling  swell  on  the  sea  or 
a  slowly  undulating  line  such  as  the  following.  Example  : 


Evermore  all  the  days  are  long,  and  the  cheerless  skies  are  gray, 
Restlessly  wander  the  baffling  winds  that  scatter  the  blinding  spray, 
And  the  drifting  currents  come  and  go  like  serpents  across  my  way. 

Wearily  fades  the  evening  dim,  drearily  wears  the  night. 

The  ghostly  mists  and  the  hurrying  clouds  and  the  breakers'  crests  of 

white 
Have  blotted  the  stars  from  the  desolate  skies,  —  have  curtained  them 

from  my  sight.  —  ROBERT  J.  BURDETTE. 


68  FORCE 

Oh,  give  me  the  spot  that  I  once  used  to  know 

By  the  side  of  the  placid  old  River  St.  Joe  ! 

Where  the  tall  grasses  nod  at  the  close  of  the  day, 

And  the  sycamore's  shadow  is  slanting  away  — 

Where  the  whip-poor-will  chants  from  a  far  distant  limb 

Just  as  if  the  whole  business  was  all  made  for  him. 

Oh  !  it's  now  that  my  thoughts,  flying  back  on  the  wings 

Of  the  rail  and  the  die-away  song  that  he  sings, 

Bring  the  tears  to  my  eyes  that  drip  off  into  rhyme, 

And  I  live  once  again  in  the  old  summer  time  ; 

For  my  soul  it  seems  caught  in  old  time's  under-tow, 

And  I'm  floating  away  down  the  River  St.  Joe. 

—  BEN  KING. 

So  let  him  lie  here  to-day,  and  let  our  people  go  and  bend  with 
solemn  thoughtfulness  and  look  upon  his  face,  and  read  the  lessons  of 
his  burial.  As  he  paused  here  on  his  journey  from  the  Western  home 
and  told  us  what  by  the  help  of  God  he  meant  to  do,  so  let  him  pause 
on  his  way  back  to  his  Western  grave  and  tell  us,  with  a  silence  more 
eloquent  than  words,  how  bravely,  how  truly,  by  the  strength  of  God,  he 
did  it.  God  brought  him  up  as  he  brought  David  up,  from  the  sheep 
folds,  to  feed  Jacob,  his  people,  and  Israel,  his  inheritance.  He  came 
up  in  earnestness  and  faith,  and  he  goes  back  in  triumph.  As  he  pauses 
here  to-day,  and  from  his  cold  lips  bids  us  bear  witness  how  he  has  met 
the  duty  that  was  laid  on  him,  what  can  we  say  out  of  our  full  hearts  but 
this,  —  "  He  fed  them  with  a  faithful  and  true  heart,  and  ruled  them 
prudently  with  all  his  power." 

The  Shepherd  of  the  People!  that  old  name  that  the  best  rulers  have 
ever  craved.  What  ruler  ever  wore  it  like  this  dead  President  of  ours  ! 
He  fed  us  faithfully  and  truly.  He  fed  us  with  counsel  when  we  were 
in  doubt,  with  inspiration  when  we  sometimes  faltered,  with  caution 
when  we  would  be  rash,  with  calm,  clear,  trusted  cheerfulness  through 
many  an  hour  when  our  hearts  were  dark.  He  fed  hungry  souls  all 
over  the  country  with  sympathy  and  consolation.  He  spread  before  the 
whole  land  feasts  of  great  duty  and  devotion  and  patriotism,  on  which 
the  land  grew  strong.  He  fed  us  with  solemn,  solid  truths.  He  taught 
us  the  sacredness  of  government,  the  wickedness  of  treason.  He  made 
our  souls  glad  and  vigorous  with  the  love  of  liberty  that  was  in  his. 
He  showed  us  how  to  love  truth  and  yet  be~ charitable,  —  how  to  hate 
wrong  and  all  oppression,  and  yet  not  treasure  one  personal  injury  or 
insult.  He  fed  all  his  people,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  from  the 


FORCE  69 

most  privileged  down  to  the  most  enslaved.  Best  of  all,  he  fed  us  with 
a  reverent  and  genuine  religion.  He  spread  before  us  the  love  and  fear 
of  God  just  in  that  shape  in  which  we  need  them  most,  and  out  of  his 
faithful  service  of  a  higher  Master  who  of  us  has  not  taken  and  eaten  and 
grown  strong  ?  "  He  fed  them  with  a  faithful  and  true  heart."  Yes, 
till  the  last.  For  at  the  last,  behold  him  with  hand  outstretched  to  feed 
the  South  with  Mercy,  and  the  North  with  Charity,  and  the  whole  land 
with  peace,  when  the  Lord  who  had  sent  him  called  him,  and  his  work 
was  done!  —  PHILLIPS  BROOKS  on  The  Character  of  Lincoln. 

We  apply  force  very  suddenly  and  abruptly  in  great 
earnestness,  joy,  defiance,  alarm,  anger,  etc.  Example  : 

Fight,  Gentlemen  of  England!  fight,  bold  yeomen! 
Draw,  archers,  draw  your  arrows  to  the  head  : 
Spur  your  proud  horses  hard,  and  ride  in  blood ; 
Amaze  the  welkin  with  your  broken  staves. 
A  thousand  hearts  are  great  within  my  bosom. 
Advance  our  standards,  set  upon  our  foes! 
Our  ancient  word  of  courage,  fair  Saint  George, 
Inspire  us  with  the  spleen  of  fiery  dragons! 
Upon  them!     Victory  sits  on  our  helms. 

—  SHAKESPEARE. 

And  then,  besides  his  irreproachable  character,  he  had  what  is  half 
the  power  of  a  popular  orator,  he  had  a  majestic  presence.  A  little 
O^Connell  would  have  been  no  O'Connell  at  all.  In  youth  he  had  the 
brow  of  a  Jupiter  and  the  stature  of  Apollo.  Sydney  Smith  says  of 
Lord  John  Russell's  five  feet,  when  he  went  down  to  Yorkshire  after 
the  Reform  Bill  had  passed,  the  stalwart  hunters  of  Yorkshire  ex- 
claimed, "What,  that  little  shrimp,  he  carry  the  Reform  Bill!"  "  No, 
No!"  said  Smith,  "he  was  a  large  man,  but  the  labors  of  the  bill 
shrunk  him." 

I  remember  the  story  Russell  tells  of  Webster ;  when  a  year  or  two 
before  his  death,  the  Whig  party  thought  of  dissolution,  Webster  came 
home  from  Washington  and  went  down  to  Faneuil  Hall  to  protest,  and 
four  thousand  of  his  fellow  Whigs  came  out ;  drawing  himself  up  to  his 
loftiest  proportion,  his  brow  charged  with  thunder,  before  the  listening 
thousands,  he  said,  "Gentlemen,  I  am  a  Whig,  a  Massachusetts  Whig, 
a  Faneuil  Hall  Whig,  a  constitutional  Whig,  a  revolutionary  Whig. 
If  you  break  up  the  Whig  party,  sir,  where  am  I  to  go?"  And,  says 
Lowell,  "  We  all  held  our  breath,  thinking  where  he  could  go.  But  if 


70  FORCE 

he  had  been  five  feet  three,  we  should  have  said,  " '  Who  cares  where 
you  go?111 

Well.  CTConnell  had  all  that ;  and  true  nature  seemed  to  be  speak- 
ing all  over  him.  It  would  have  been  a  pleasure  even  to  look  at  him  if 
he  had  not  spoken  at  all.  and  all  you  thought  of  was  a  greyhound. 

And  then  he  had  what  so  few  American  speakers  have,  a  voice  that 
sounded  the  gamut.  I  heard  him  once  in  Exeter  Hall  say,  "  Ameri- 
cans, I  send  my  voice  careering  across  the  Atlantic  like  a  thunderstorm, 
to  tell  the  slave  holders  of  the  Carolinas  that  God's  thunderbolts  are 
hot,  and  to  remind  the  negro  that  the  dawn  of  his  redemption  is  draw- 
ing near,"  and  I  seemed  to  hear  his  voice  reverberating  and  reechoing 
back  to  Boston  from  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

—  WENDELL  PHILLIPS,  on  Daniel  (FConnell. 

The  third  method  of  applying  force  scarcely  needs  illus- 
tration. It  is  that  which  we  use  in  our  ordinary  thoughts  and 
feelings,  for  narration,  patriotism,  gladness,  etc.  Example  : 

It  is  now  forty  years  since  I  first  saw  and  heard  Abraham  Lincoln, 
but  the  impression  which  he  left  on  my  mind  is  ineffaceable.  After  his 
great  successes  in  the  West,  he  came  to  New  York  to  make  a  political 
address.  He  appeared  in  every  sense  of  the  word  like  one  of  the  plain 
people  among  whom  he  loved  to  be  counted.  At  first  sight,  there  was 
nothing  impressing  and  imposing  about  him.  His  clothes  hung  awk- 
wardly on  his  giant  frame.  His  seamed  and  rugged  features  bore  the 
furrows  of  hardship  and  struggle.  As  he  talked  to  me  before  the  meet- 
ing, he  seemed  ill  at  ease,  with  that  sort  of  apprehension  which  a  young 
man  might  feel  before  presenting  himself  to  a  new  and  strange  audience, 
whose  critical  disposition  he  dreaded.  —  JOSEPH  H.  CHOATE. 

EXERCISES 

39.  Give  the  following  words  with  a  gently  swelling  utterance,  and 
then  allow  them  to  die  away. 

lone         moan         roar        gloaming        foaming         roaming       break 
cold        gray          stones     sea  twilight         star  call 

40.  Give  the  following  words  in  an  utterance  that  breaks  forth  all 
at  once. 

back  dog  go  pull  cannon  tack 

down          peace  turn  strike         false  blasphemer 


LESSON    XVIII 
FORCE  —  Continued 

THE  AMOUNT  TO  APPLY 

IN  Lesson  XVII  we  found  that  Force  is  the  power  we 
exert  in  sending  out  words  from  the  vocal  organs.  To  deter- 
mine the  amount  of  this  force  is  no  easy  task,  yet  in  general 
it  may  be  said  that  our  ordinary  force  is  increased  in  expres- 
sing some  sentiments  and  decreased  in  expressing  others. 

But  whatever  the  sentiment,  the  amount  of  force  used  is 
dependent  upon  two  things  : 

1.  The  speaker. 

2.  The  place  where  he  is  speaking. 

Not  all  persons  are  equal  in  vocal  strength.  To  gain 
the  same  effect,  one  person  must  oftentimes  use  several 
times  the  force  enployed  by  another.  Each  person  has 
a  scale  of  his  own,  and  he  should  not  try  to  imitate  that 
of  any  other  person. 

Again,  force,  as  mentioned  above,  differs  with  the  place 
of  speaking.  More  force  would  be  needed  in  a  large  audi- 
torium than  in  a  small  one,  and  still  more  would  be  needed 
in  the  open  air  than  in  either.  What  might  be  a  proper 
amount  of  force  for  a  large  room  might  be  too  much  in  a 
small  room.  Nor  does  the  size  have  all  to  do  with  the  force 
that  should  be  used.  Sometimes  the  shape,  or  the  ventila- 
tion, affects  the  amount  of  force  needed. 

But  taking  an  average  speaker  and  an  average  audi- 
torium, each  degree  of  force  is  suitable  for  certain  senti- 
ments and  conditions. 

7' 


72  FORCE 

Gentle  force  is  suitable  for  stillness,  tranquillity,  sadness, 
solemnity,  veneration,  aive,  etc.  Example  : 

Our  way  lay  from  one  to  another  of  the  most  wretched  dwellings, 
reeking  with  horrible  odors,  shut  out  from  the  sky,  shut  out  from  the 
air,  mere  pits  and  dens.  In  a  room  in  one  of  these  places,  where 
there  was  an  empty  porridge  pot  on  the  cold  hearth,  with  a  ragged 
woman  and  some  ragged  children  crouching  on  the  bare  ground  near 
it, — where,  I  remember,  as  I  speak,  that  the  very  light,  reflected  from 
a  high,  damp-stained  and  time-stained  house  wall,  came  trembling  in, 
as  if  the  fever  which  had  shaken  everything  else  there  had  even  shaken 
it,  —  there  lay,  in  an  old  egg  box  which  the  mother  had  begged  from 
a  shop,  a  little,  feeble,  wasted,  wan,  sick  child,  with  his  little  wasted 
face,  and  his  little  hot,  worn  hands  folded  over  his  breast,  and  his 
little,  bright,  attentive  eyes  looking  steadily  at  us.  I  can  see  him 
now  as  I  have  seen  him  for  several  years ;  there  he  lay  in  his  little 
frail  box,  which  was  not  at  all  a  bad  emblem  of  the  little  body  from 
which  he  was  slowly  parting  —  there  he  lay,  quite  quiet,  quite  patient, 
saying  never  a  word.  He  seldom  cried,  the  mother  said ;  he  seldom 
complained;  "he  lay  there,  seemin1  to  wonder  what  it  was  a1  about." 
God  knows,  I  thought,  as  I  stood  looking  at  him,  he  had  his  reasons 
for  wondering.  —  CHARLES  DICKENS,  in  an  After  Dinner  Speech. 

Strong  force  is  suitable  for  grandeur,  patriotism,  scorn, 
hate,  revenge,  etc.  Example  : 

Now,  gentlemen,  not  to  weary  you,  I  am  about  to  present  a  name 
for  your  consideration,  —  the  name  of  one  who  was  the  comrade, 
associate,  and  friend  of  nearly  all  the  noble  dead  whose  faces  look 
down  upon  us  from  these  walls  to-night,  a  man  who  began  his  career 
of  public  service  twenty-five  years  ago,  —  who  courageously  confronted 
the  slave  power  in  the  days  of  peril  on  the  plains  of  Kansas,  when 
first  began  to  fall  the  red  drops  of  that  bloody  shower  which  finally 
swelled  into  the  deluge  of  gore  in  the  late  Rebellion.  He  bravely 
stood  by  young  Kansas,  and,  returning  to  his  seat  in  the  National 
legislature,  his  pathway  through  all  the  subsequent  years  has  been 
marked  by  labors  worthily  performed  in  every  department  of  legis- 
lation. 

You  ask  for  his  monument.  I  point  you  to  twenty-five  years  of 
national  statutes.  Not  one  great,  beneficent  law  has  been  placed  on 
our  statute  books  without  his  intelligent  and  powerful  aid.  He  aided 


FORCE  73 

in  formulating  the  laws  to  raise  the  great  armies  and  navies  which 
carried  us  through  the  war.  His  hand  was  seen  in  the  workmanship 
of  those  statutes  that  restored  and  brought  back  "  the  unity  and 
married  calm  of  States."  His  hand  was  in  all  that  great  legislation 
that  created  the  war  currency,  and  in  all  the  still  greater  work  that 
redeemed  the  promises  of  the  government  and  made  the  currency 
equal  to  gold. 

When  at  last  he  passed  from  the  halls  of  legislation  into  high  execu- 
tive office,  he  displayed  that  experience,  intelligence,  firmness,  and  poise 
of  character  which  have  carried  us  through  a  stormy  period  of  three 
years,  with  one  half  the  public  press  crying  "  Crucify  him ! "  and  a 
hostile  Congress  seeking  to  prevent  success.  In  all  this  he  remained 
unmoved  until  victory  crowned  him.  The  great  fiscal  affairs  of  the  na- 
tion and  the  vast  business  interests  of  the  country,  he  guarded  and  pre- 
served while  executing  the  law  of  resumption,  and  effected  its  object 
without  a  jar,  and  against  the  false  prophecies  of  one  half  of  the  press 
and  of  all  the  Democratic  party. 

He  has  shown  himself  able  to  meet  with  calmness  the  great  emer- 
gencies of  the  government.  For  twenty-five  years  he  has  trodden  the 
perilous  heights  of  public  duty,  and  against  all  the  shafts  of  malice  has 
borne  his  breast  unharmed.  He  has  stood  in  the  blaze  of  "  that  fierce 
light  that  beats  against  the  throne,"  but  its  fiercest  ray  has  found  no 
flaw  in  his  armor,  no  stain  upon  his  shield.  I  do  not  present  him  as  a 
better  Republican  or  a  better  man  than  thousands  of  others  that  we 
honor;  but  I  present  him  for  your  deliberate  and  favorable  considera- 
tion. I  nominate  John  Sherman  of  Ohio.  —  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

Very  strong  force  is  suitable  for  courage,  defiance,  alarm, 
anger,  rage,  etc.  Example: 

Has  the  gentleman  done?  Has  he  completely  done?  He  was  un- 
parliamentary from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  speech.  There  was 
scarce  a  word  that  he  uttered  that  was  not  a  violation  of  the  privileges 
of  the  House.  But  I  did  not  call  him  to  order.  Why?  Because  the 
limited  talents  of  some  men  render  it  impossible  for  them  to  be  severe 
without  being  unparliamentary.  But  before  I  sit  down  I  shall  show  him 
how  to  be  severe  and  parliamentary  at  the  same  time.  On  any  other 
occasion,  I  should  think  myself  justifiable  in  treating  with  silent  con- 
tempt anything  which  might  fall  from  the  honorable  member  ;  but  there 
are  times  when  the  insignificance  of  the  accuser  is  lost  in  the  magnitude 
of  the  accusation.  I  know  the  difficulty  the  honorable  gentleman 


74  FORCE 

labored  under  when  he  attacked  me,  conscious  that,  on  a  comparative 
view  of  our  characters,  public  and  private,  there  is  nothing  he  could  say 
which  would  injure  me.  The  public  would  not  believe  the  charge.  I 
despise  the  falsehood.  If  such  a  charge  were  made  by  an  honest  man, 
I  would  answer  it  in  the  manner  I  shall  do  before  I  sit  down.  But  I 
shall  first  reply  to  it  when  not  made  by  an  honest  man. 

The  right  honorable  gentleman  has  called  me  "an  unimpeached 
traitor.'7  I  ask,  why  not  "traitor,"  unqualified  by  any  epithet?  I  will 
tell  him ;  it  was  because  he  dare  not!  It  was  the  act  of  a  coward,  who 
raises  his  arm  to  strike,  but  has  not  the  courage  to  give  the  blow! 
I  will  not  call  him  villain,  because  it  would  be  unparliamentary,  and  he 
is  a  Privy  Councilor.  I  will  not  call  him  fool,  because  he  happens  to 
be  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  But  I  say  he  is  one  who  has  abused 
the  privilege  of  Parliament  and  freedom  of  debate,  in  uttering  language, 
which,  if  spoken  out  of  the  House,  I  should  answer  only  with  a  blow.  I 
care  not  how  high  his  situation,  how  low  his  character,  how  contemptible 
his  speech ;  whether  a  privy  councilor  or  a  parasite,  my  answer  would 
be  a  blow.  He  has  charged  me  with  being  connected  with  the  rebels. 
The  charge  is  utterly,  totally,  and  meanly  false!  Does  the  honorable 
gentleman  rely  on  the  report  of  the  House  of  Lords  for  the  foundation 
of  his  assertion?  If  he  does,  I  can  prove  to  the  committee  there  was  a 
physical  impossibility  of  that  report  being  true.  But  I  scorn  to  answer 
any  man  for  my  conduct,  whether  he  be  a  political  coxcomb,  or  whether 
he  brought  himself  into  power  by  a  false  glare  of  courage  or  not. 

I  have  returned,  not,  as  the  right  honorable  member  has  said,  to  raise 
another  storm,  —  I  have  returned  to  discharge  an  honorable  debt  of 
gratitude  to  my  country,  that  conferred  a  great  reward  for  past  services, 
which,  I  am  proud  to  say,  was  not  greater  than  my  desert.  I  have  re- 
turned to  protect  that  Constitution,  of  which  I  was  the  parent  and 
founder,  from  the  assassination  of  such  men  as  the  honorable  gentleman 
and  his  unworthy  associates.  They  are  corrupt  —  they  are  seditious  — 
and  they,  at  this  very  moment,  are  in  a  conspiracy  against  their  country! 
I  have  returned  to  refute  a  libel,  as  false  as  it  is  malicious,  given  to  the 
public  under  the  appellation  of  a  report  of  the  committee  of  the  Lords. 
Here  I  stand  for  impeachment  or  trial  !  I  dare  accusation  !  I  defy  the 
honorable  gentleman  !  1  defy  the  Government  !  I  defy  their  whole 
phalanx  !  —  let  them  come  forth  !  I  tell  the  ministers  I  shall  neither 
give  them  quarter  nor  take  it ! 

—  HENRY  GRATTAN  (Invective  against  Mr.  Corry). 


LESSON  XIX 
GESTURE 

THE  OPEN  HAND  WITH  THE  PALM  DOWN 

OFTENTIMES  we  have  occasion  to  use  a  pointing  gesture, 
and  yet  we  do  not  wish  it  to  be  as  definite  as  the  index 
hand  would  make  it.     To  supply  this  need,  we  use  the  open 
hand  with  the  palm  down.     See  Fig- 
ure 34.     If  a  stroke  were  made  down- 
ward with  this  hand,  it  might  remind 
one  of  a  paint  brush,  with  the  fingers 
and  thumb  representing  the  flexible 
part  of  the  brush. 

CAUTION  No.  i .  —  When  the  ges- 
ture is  finished,  that  is,  after  the 
.stroke  has  been  made,  the  hand 
should  extend  straight  out  from  the 
forearm  or  be  elevated  at  a  slight 
angle, 
downward. 


^      ,       .,  FIG.  34.     A  gesture  with  the 

Dont   let   it   droop    or   pitch     palmof  the  hand  down. 


This  gesture  is  used  to  locate,  trace,  measure,  shape, 
mold,  etc.  From  these  uses  it  has  been  extended  in  one 
direction  to  caressing,  blessing,  and  protection,  and  in  an- 
other to  reproof,  stippression,  and  restraint.  In  the  last 
division,  the  hand  takes  a  slight  angle  with  the  forearm, 
and  the  stroke  should  be  stopped  a  little  before  the  hand 
reaches  the  level  of  the  forearm.  Examples  : 

75 


76 


GESTURE 


Yonder  clump  of  trees. 

That  strip  of  woods  that  borders  the  field. 

From  this  house  over  to  that  one. 

I  will  heap  up  this  sand  into  a  little  mound. 
Blessings  on  thee,  little*  man, 
Barefoot  boy  with  cheek  of  tan! —  WHITTIER. 

Pause,  I  entreat  you ;  consider  for  a  moment  what  reasons  you  can 
give  to  your  fellow  sufferers  in  this  calamity  that  it  will  bring  upon  us. 
What  reasons  can  you  give  to  the  nations  of  the  earth  to  justify  it  ? 
They  will  be  the  calm  and  deliberate  judges  in  this  case ;  and  to  what 
cause  or  overt  act  can  you  point  on  which  to  rest  the  plea  of  justifica- 
tion? What  right  has  the  North  assailed?  What  interest  of  the 
South  has  been  invaded  ?  What  justice  has  been  denied  ?  And  what 
claim  founded  upon  justice  and  right  has  been  withheld?  Can  you  to- 
day name  one  governmental  act  of  wrong  deliberately  and  purposely 
done  by  the  Government  at  Washington  of  which  the  South  has  a 
right  to  complain  ?  — A.  H.  STEPHENS,  in  Plea  Against  Secession. 

THE  OPEN  HAND  WITH  PALM  UP 

Just  opposite  to  the  open  hand  with  palm  down,  and  in 
many  cases,  opposite  to  it  in  meaning,  is  the  open  hand 
with  palm  up.  This  hand  is  formed 
by  turning  the  hand  so  that  the  palm 
is  up,  and  allowing  the  forefinger  to 
drop  below  the  middle  finger,  at  the 
same  time  letting  the  whole  hand 
droop  slightly  from  the  wrist. 

CAUTION  No.  i.  —  Be  sure  to  get 
the  fingers  fully  unrolled.  Do  not 
have  them  bent  in  toward  the  palm. 
Avoid,  however,  the  extreme  of  having 
the  hand  flat  (See  Fig.  36.) 

CAUTION  No.  2.  —  Do  not  get  a 
"  cup  "  hand  ;  that  is,  do  not  get  too 
deep  a  palm, —open  the  palm  part  of  the  hand  farther. 
(See  Fig.  38.) 


FlG.  35.  The  proper  form 
of  a  gesture  with  the  palm 
of  the  hand  up. 


GESTURE 


77 


FlG.  36.    Fingers  not  un-       FIG.  37.   Fingers  plas- 
rolied.  tered  together. 


FIG.  38.     The    "  cup " 
hand. 


FlG.  39.     Thumb    allowed  FlG.  40.     Fingers  spread, 

to  fall  in  toward  the  palm. 

Some  common  faults  in  the  formation  of  the  hand  with  palm  up. 


78  GESTURE 

CAUTION  No.  3.  —  Do  not  let  the  thumb  fall  in  toward 
the  palm.  Keep  it  out  to  the  side.  (See  Fig.  39.) 

CAUTION  No.  4.  —  Do  not  plaster  the  fingers,  nor  yet 
spread  them.  (See  Figs.  37  and  40  ) 

CAUTION  No.  5.  —  Do  not  forget  the  stroke.  Every 
gesture  must  have  a  stroke.  Let  there  be  a  slight  unrolling 
of  the  fingers  as  the  stroke  is  made. 

CAUTION  No.  6.  —  When  one  gesture  follows  close  upon 
another,  it  is  not  necessary  to  recover  the  hand  fully  each 


FlG.  41.     "  Reaching "    for   a  gesture 
with  the  palm  up  —  a  common  fault. 


FlG.  42.  A  correct  use  of  the  gesture 
with  the  palm  up  —  the  body  erect  and 
a  bend  in  ihe  arm  at  both  the  elbow 
and  wrist. 


time.     It  may  just  be  given  little  succeeding  strokes  on  the 
following  emphatic  words  by  an  impulse  from  the  elbow. 


GESTURE  79 

CAUTION  No.  7.  —  The  palm  should  neither  be  horizontal 
nor  vertical,  but  about  halfway  between,  —  at  an  angle  of 
about  45°, 

CAUTION  No.  8.  —  Do  not  allow  the  gesture  to  pull  you 
forward,  as  shown  in  Figure  41.  Keep  erect,  as  in  Figure 
42,  and  remember  to  keep  a  bend  at  the  elbow  and  also 
at  the  wrist. 

This  gesture  is  used  in  asking,  giving,  receiving,  welcom- 
ing, asserting,  revealing,  explaining ;  also  in  humility,  conces- 
sion, and  the  like.  Examples  : 

Give  it  to  me. 

Take  it. 

Let  me  ask,  then,  what  is  the  chief  business  of  war  ?  It  is  to 
destroy  human  life ;  to  mangle  the  limbs  ;  to  gnash  and  hew  the  body ; 
to  plunge  the  sword  into  the  heart  of  a  fellow  creature ;  to  strew  the 
earth  with  bleeding  frames,  and  to  trample  them  under  foot  with  horses' 
hoofs.  It  is  to  batter  down  and  burn  cities  ;  to -turn  fruitful  fields  into 
deserts ;  to  level  the  cottage  of  the  peasant  and  the  magnificent  abode 
of  opulence ;  to  scourge  nations  with  famine ;  to  multiply  widows  and 
orphans.  —  CHANNING. 

EXERCISES 

41.  Give  the  hand,  palm  up,  with  the  right  hand  toward  the  floor,  the 
window,  and  the  ceiling,  first  far  to  the  right  and  then  nearly  in  front 
of  you.     Stand  with  the  right  foot  forward  for  this.     Say  the  words, 
"  The  floor,  the  window,  and  the  ceiling,"  as  you  make  the  gestures. 

42.  Give  the  hand,  palm  up,  with  the  left  hand  toward  the  floor,  the 
window,  and  the  ceiling,  first  far  to  the  left  and  then  nearly  in  front  of 
you.     Stand  with  the  left  foot  forward  for  this.     Say  the  words  as  in 
Ex.  41. 

43.  Execute  Ex.  41  with  the  hand,  palm  down. 
44     Execute  Ex.  42  with  the  hand,  palm  down. 

45.  Try  the  hand,  palm  up  and  palm  down,  in  all  sorts  of  positions 
and  directions.  Say  the  words  that  arise  in  your  mind  when  you  make 
some  of  these  gestures. 


LESSON    XX 
MORE   SUGGESTIONS   ABOUT   ACTUAL   SPEAKING 

As  you  sit  on  the  platform.  —  If  you  are  seated  on  the 
platform  before  beginning  your  speech,  —  which  is  gener- 
ally the  best  plan,  for  then  you  become  rather  used  to  the 
audience  before  you  speak,  —  it  is  well  to  be  careful  not 
to  sit  in  a  slouchy  manner.  Do  not  be  too  prim,  but  do 
not  be  slovenly.  As  it  comes  nearer  your  turn  to  speak, 
be  sure  to  get  your  feet  in  one  of  the  easy  positions  for 
speaking. 

Addressing  the  chairman.  —  When  the  chairman  has 
announced  your  subject  and  has  called  your  name,  he  will 
generally  turn  toward  you.  As  he  turns,  rise  to  your  full 
height  and  make  a  little  nod,  saying  aloud,  or  partially 
aloud,  the  words,  "  Mr.  Chairman."  As  you  make  the  nod, 
incline  the  body  just  a  trifle  from  the  waist.  Be  careful 
not  to  make  too  formal  a  bow  out  of  this.  Just  make  a 
respectful  nod. 

Getting  forward  to  your  audience.  —  After  you  have  ad- 
dressed the  chair,  walk  easily  to  the  front  part  of  the  plat- 
form, gradually  shortening  your  steps,  and  slowing  them 
down,  until  you  drop  easily  into  one  of  the  ordinary  speak- 
ing positions.  Wait  until  your  audience  gets  quiet  before 
you  begin.  Do  not  make  a  bow  to  the  audience  unless  you 
are  very  well  known  and  a  general  favorite  and  the  ap- 
plause is  very  much  prolonged.  Stand  still  till  you  have 
perfect  quiet.  This  will  help  your  audience  hear  your  first 
words,  which  are  often  important,  and  it  will  also  enable 
you  to  get  a  little  more  at  ease. 

80 


MORE  SUGGESTIONS  ABOUT  ACTUAL  SPEAKING        8 1 

The  start.  —  If  you  happen  to  have  the  left  foot  back,  it 
is  a  little  easier,  and  avoids  twisting  your  body,  to  talk  to 
the  people  on  your  left  center  and  left.  If  you  happen  to 
start  with  the  right  foot  back,  it  is  a  little  easier  and 
avoids  twisting,  to  commence  talking  to  the  people  on 
your  right  center  and  right.  This  rule  will  not  apply 
when  you  get  to  making  gestures.  Most  gestures  should 
be  made  over  the  forward  foot,  especially  those  which  are 
meant  to  emphasize  something.  Do  not  turn  too  far  to 
the  sides,  —  the  corners  of  the  room  are  about  the  right 
guides.  If  you  turn  too  far,  the  people  on  the  other  side 
will  not  hear  you. 

Commence  speaking  very  slowly,  almost  hesitatingly, 
making  long  pauses  after  every  idea-group  of  words  in 
your  sentence.  As  you  speak  your  first  sentence,  or  your 
first  two  or  three  sentences  if  they  are  short,  gradually 
turn  to  the  right  or  left,  so  as  to  cover  the  entire  audience, 
closing  the  sentence  by  bringing  back  your  right  or  left 
foot,  as  the  case  may  be,  to  the  opposite  position  from  the 
one  with  which  you  started. 

The  body  of  the  speech.  —  After  your  first  sentence,  you 
may  gradually  increase  your  speed  up  to  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  or  a  hundred  and  forty  words,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  room.  You  may  also  decrease  the  frequency 
of  your  turns  from  right  to  left  until  they  occur,  perhaps, 
only  between  paragraphs.  It  is  well  always  to  change 
position  between  paragraphs,  for  just  as  the  indentation 
on  the  printed  page  serves  to  indicate  a  division  of  thought, 
so  does  a  change  of  position  on  the  platform.  If  you 
make  any  gestures,  be  sure  to  get  a  wide  enough  base  to 
support  them.  If  you  do  not,  your  gesture  will  look  as  if 
it  were  going  to  pull  you  over.  Step  out  with  the  foot  to 
get  a  wide  base.  Don't  startle  an  audience  by  "  spring- 
ing" gestures  upon  them  too  suddenly.  Show  by  your 

PUB.  SPEAK.  —  6 


82       MORE    SUGGESTIONS    ABOUT    ACTUAL   SPEAKING 

whole  bodily  excitement  that  a  gesture  is  coming,  and  then 
they  will  be  ready  for  it.  Actually  get  yourself  worked 
up  to  such  a  pitch  that  the  gesture  must  come,  and 
you  cannot  possibly  keep  it  back. 

The  finish,  — r  When  you  have  finished,  make  a  little  nod. 
Do  not  make  a  bow.  As  you  make  the  nod,  bring  your 
front  foot  back,  then  your  other  one,  and  then  turn  for 
your  seat.  When  you  sit  down,  do  not  turn  clear  around 
so  that  your  back  is  squarely  toward  the  audience.  To 
avoid  this,  you  may  step  a  little  to  the  opposite  side  of  the 
platform  from  your  seat  on  the  first  two  backward  steps, 
and  then  walk  obliquely  to  your  chair.  Try  all  these 
things  at  home,  or  in  practice,  before  you  appear.  Don't 
make  the  nod  flippant. 

A  FEW  DON'T'S 

Don't  put  your  hands  in  your  pockets. 

Don't  put  your  hands  behind  you. 

Don't  finger  your  rings. 

Don't  move  straight  across  the  platform.  Work  in 
oblique  lines,  retiring  on  the  close  of  your  paragraphs,  and 
coming  out  on  the  beginnings. 

Don't  slump  by  letting  your  weight  rest  on  one  foot. 
Stand  on  both  feet. 

Don't  speak  to  the  galleries.     Keep  downstairs. 

Don't  step  so  far  when  you  change  position  that  you 
bring  your  back  heel  off  the  floor.  Keep  both  heels  on 
the  floor  unless  you  are  making  gestures,  or  are  intensely 
interested. 

Don't  talk  to  a  few  people  in  the  front  of  your  audience. 
Talk  to  those  on  the  outskirts  of  the  room. 


LESSON    XXI 
PITCH 

NOT  all  the  changes  of  pitch  in  our  speech  are  so  ap- 
parent as  those  set  forth  in  Lesson  XII.  Within  every 
sentence  we  make  smaller  changes,  which,  though  not  so 
plain  as  those  already  given,  are  just  as  important,  and 
must  be  clearly  understood  by  the  student  of  public  speak- 
ing if  he  would  succeed. 

THE  STEP 

The  simplest  change  of  pitch  that  we  have  is  called 
the  step  of  the  voice.  Of  course,  it  may  be  either  UP 
or  DOWN.  For  instance,  in  the  sentence,  "  /'//  tear  her 
all  to  pieces"  we  take  steps  something  like  the  following  :  * 

tear         all      pie- 
Til          her       to        ces. 

or,  all 

to 

tear  pie- 

Til          her  ces. 

*  No  typographical  means,  of  course,  is  adequate  to  picture  correctly  for 
the  eye,  the  path  of  melody  in  speech.  While  there  are  distinct  steps  in  all 
speaking,  they  are  not  as  numerous  as  our  ear  would  lead  us  to  believe.  Many 
of  our  consonants  have  slight  sounds,  and  changes  of  pitch  occur  during 
their  progress,  so  that  a  scientifically  correct  record  of  our  speech  would  show 
us  that  it  moves  more  by  waves  than  by  steps.  See  Fig.  55,  pp.  120-121,  and 
the  accompanying  description.  This  fact  should  be  carefully  noted  by  the 
student,  lest  he  fall  into  the  habit  of  being  "  choppy  "  in  his  style.  Let  each 
thought  unit  constitute  a  single  "  convexity  "  of  melody  which  may,  of  course, 
be  made  up  of  component  waves  with  crests  of  varying  height. 

83 


84  PITCH 

Between  Fll  and  tear,  both  in  the  first  and  second  read- 
ing, we  have  an  upward  step,  and  between  all  and  to,  in 
both,  we  have  a  downward  step.  In  the  second  reading, 
we  have  all  downward  steps  from  all  to  the  end. 

Thus,  in  all  speech  we  are  continually  stepping  up  and 
down  in  our  scales  of  pitch. 

Below  are  appended  a  few  additional  examples.*  Let 
the  student  read  them  aloud,  following  the  steps  as  they 
occur. 

Oh, 
no! 

Yes, 
Sir 

true? 
Is  it 

there? 
Is  he 

said 
Who          so? 

Who 

said  so? 

days          weeks          slow- 
The  and  pass  ly. 

Break, 

break, 

break, 

gray  O 

cold          stones,      Sea! 
On  thy 

would  tongue  utter 

And  I  that  my  could 

*  It  is  understood,  of  course,  by  both  teacher  and  pupil  that  the  speech 
melody,  or  sequence  of  steps  and  slides  of  the  voice,  given  in  the  text  for  these 
examples  is  merely  one  that  has  suggested  itself  to  .the  author.  Other  arrange- 
ments of  slides  and  steps,  equally  good  or  better,  are  entirely  possible. 


PITCH  85 


thoughts  rise 

The  that  a-  in 


me. 


well  fisherman's 

Oh,          for  the  boy, 

shouts  sister       play ! 

That  he  with  his  at 

well  sailor  lad, 

Oh,          for  the 

sings  boat 

That  he  in  his  on  the  bay  ! 

stately  ships  go 
And  the  on 

ha-         under        hill ; 
To  their       ven  the 

oh,  touch  vanished 

But         for  the  of  the  hand, 

sound         voice 
And  the  of  a  that  is 

still! 

Break, 

break, 

break, 

O 

foot  crags, 

At  the          of  thy  Sea! 

tender  grace          day 
But  the  that 

of  a  is 

dead 

come 

never  back 

Will  to  me. 

—  TENNYSON. 


86  PITCH 

Four 

score  brought 

and  fathers  '  forth 

seven  go,  our 

years 
a- 

new  ceived 

upon  nent,  a          na-         con-  in 

this          ti-  tion,  liberty, 

con-  and 

dedicated 

to  tion,          all 

the  that       men 

prop-  are 

o-  created 

si-  equal. 

great 

Now  gaged  civil          testing  that 

we  are  en-  in  a  war,  whether 

any  so  conceived 

nation,  nation,  and  . 

or  so 

ded-        ted,  can 
i- 

ca- 

long  en- 
dure. 

EXERCISES 

Write  out,  similarly  to  the  examples  just  given,  the  steps 
in  pitch  for  the  following  : 

(Let  one  section  of  the  class  take  one  part  of  the  verses 
and  other  sections  other  parts.) 

i 

At  Paris  it  was,  at  the  Opera  there ; 

And  she  looked  like  a  queen  in  a  book,  that  night, 
With  the  wreath  of  pearl  in  her  raven  hair, 

And  the  brooch  on  her  breast  so  bright. 


PITCH  87 


Of  all  the  operas  that  Verdi  wrote, 

The  best,  to  my  taste,  is  the  Trovatore ; 

And  Mario  could  soothe  with  a  tenor  note 
The  souls  in  purgatory. 


in 


The  moon  on  the  tower  slept  soft  as  snow, 

And  who  was  not  thrilled  in  the  strangest  way, 

As  we  heard  him  sing,  while  the  gas  burned  low, 
u  Non  ti  scordar  di  me !  " 


IV 


The  Emperor  there,  in  his  box  of  state, 
Looked  grave,  as  if  he  had  just  then  seen 

The  red  flag  wave  from  the  city  gate, 
Where  his  eagles  in  bronze  had  been. 


The  Empress,  too,  had  a  tear  in  her  eye, 

You'd  have  said  that  her  fancy  had  gone  back  again, 
For  one  moment  under  the  old  blue  sky, 

To  the  old,  glad  life  in  Spain. 


VI 

Well !  there  in  our  front-row  box  we»  sat 
Together,  my  bride-betrothed  and  I ; 

My  gaze  was  fixed  on  my  opera  hat, 
And  hers  on  the  stage  hard  by ; 

VII 

And  both  were  silent  and  both  were  sad ; 

Like  a  queen,  she  leaned  on  her  full  white  arm, 
With  that  regal,  indolent  air  she  had,  — 

So  confident  of  her  charm. 


88  PITCH 

vm 

I  have  not  a  doubt  she  was  thinking  then 
Of  her  former  lord,  good  soul  that  he  was  ! 

Who  died  the  richest  and  roundest  of  men, 
The  Marquis  of  Carabas. 

IX 

Meanwhile  I  was  thinking  of  my  first  love, 
As  I  had  not  been  thinking  of  aught  for  years, 

Till  over  my  eyes  there  began  to  move 
Something  that  felt  like  tears.  —  OWEN  MEREDITH. 

Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago,  our  Fathers  brought  forth  upon  this 
continent  a  new  Nation,  conceived  in  Liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the 
proposition  that  all  men  are  created  equal. 

Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  Civil  War,  testing  whether  that 
Nation,  or  any  Nation,  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated,  can  long  endure. 

We  are  met  on  a  great  battlefield  of  that  War.  We  have  come  to 
dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as  a  final  resting  place  for  those  who 
here  gave  their  lives  that  that  Nation  might  live. 

It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do  this. 

But  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot  dedicate,  we  cannot  consecrate, 
we  cannot  hallow  this  ground.  The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who 
struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our  power  to  add  or 
detract. 

The  World  will  little  note,  or  long  remember,  what  we  say  here ; 
but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did  here. 

It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished 
work  which  they  who  fought  here  have,  thus  far,  so  nobly  advanced. 

It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining 
before  us ;  that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to 
that  Cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion ;  that 
we  here  highly  resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain ; 
that  this  nation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom  ;  and 
that  Government  of  the  People,  by  the  People  and  for  the  People,  shall 
not  perish  from  the  Earth. —  LINCOLN'S  Gettysburg  Address. 


LESSON  XXII 
PITCH  —  Continued 

THE  SLIDE 

BESIDES  the  step  there  is  also  another  change  of  pitch, 
called  the  slide.  This,  also,  may  be  an  upward  or  a 
downward  slide. 

In  Ex.  35,  the  slide  has  already  been  given  by  the 
student,  and  it  but  remains  to  illustrate  its  use  in  speech. 
In  the  sentence,  "/$•  he  there?"  if  the  word  there  is  pro- 
longed, the  student  will  notice  a  rising  slide.  Likewise,  in 
the  sentence  "  Come  here!"  he  will  notice  a  downward 
slide,  if  the  last  word  is  prolonged.  Examples  : 

NOTE.  —  For  convenience,  in  the  following  examples,  a  line  curving 
upward  will  be  used  to  denote  a  rising  slide,  and  a  line  curving  down- 
ward a  falling  slide.  Let  the  student  read  the  examples  aloud,  being 
careful  to  observe  the  slides  indicated.  These  may  even  be  exagger- 
ated for  the  time  being,  it  being  understood,  of  course,  that  in  actual 
speech  some  slides  are  short  and  some  long. 

RISING 

Is  he  there  ? 

Will  he  go  ? 

They  tell  us,  sir,  that  we  are  weak,  —  unable  to  cope  with  so 
formidable  an  adversary.  But  when  shall  we  be  stronger  ?  Will  it  be 
the  next  week,  or  the  next  year  ?  Will  it  be  when  we  are  totally  dis- 
armed, and  when  a  British  guard  shall  be  stationed  in  every  House  ? 
Shall  we  gather  strength  by  irresolution  and  inaction?  Shall  we 
acquire  the  means  of  effectual  resistance  by  lying  supinely  on  our 

89 


90  PITCH 

backs,  and  hugging  the  delusive  phantom  of  hope  until  our  enemy  shall 
have  bound  us  hand  and  foot  ?  —  PATRICK  HENRY. 


FALLING 

Come  here. 

Close  the  door. 

How  far,  O  Catiline,  wilt  thou  abuse  our  patience  !  How  long 
shalt  thou  baffle  justice  in  thy  mad  career  !  To  hvhat  extremity  wilt 
thou  carry  thy  audacity  !  —  CICERO. 

Romans,  Countrymen,  and  lovers  !  Hear  me  for  my  cause ;  and  be 
silent  that  you  may  hear.  Believe  me  for  my  honor ;  and  have  respect 
for  mine  honor,  that  you  may  believe.  Censure  me  in  your  wis- 
dom, etc.  —  SHAKESPEARE. 

The  student  may  copy  the  following,  marking  the  im- 
portant slides  as  in  the  examples  already  given. 

RISING 

Student  of  history,  compare  for  me  the  baffled  projects,  the  deserted 
settlements,  the  abandoned  adventures  of  other  times,  and  find  the 
parallel  of  this.  Was  it  the  winter  storm,  beating  upon  the  houseless 
heads  of  women  and  children  ?  Was  it  hard  labor  and  spare  meals  ? 
Was  it  disease  ?  Was  it  the  tomahawk  ?  Was  it  the  deep  malady  of  a 
blighted  hope,  a  rumed^_enjterprise,  and  a  broken  heart,  aching  in  its 
last  moments  at  the  recollections  of  the  loved  and  left,  beyond  the 
seas  ?  Was  it  some  or  all  of  them  united  that  hurried  this  forsaken 
company  to  their  melancholy  fate  ?  —  EDWARD  EVERETT,  in  First  Settle- 
ment of  New  England. 

FALLING 

Sir,  we  are  not  weak,  if  we  make  a  proper  use  of  those  means  which 
the  God  of  nature  hath  placed  in  our  power.  Three  millions  of  people 
armed  in  the  holy  cause  of  liberty,  and  in  such  a  country  as  that  which 
we  possess,  are  invincible  by  any  force  which  our  enemy  can  send 
against  us.  Besides,  sir,  we  shall  not  fight  our  battles  alone.  There  is 
a  just  God  who  presides  over  the  destinies  of  nations,  and  who  will 
raise  up  friends  to  fight  our  battles  for  us.  The  battle,  sir,  is  not  to 
the  strong  alone ;  it  is  to  the  vigilant,  the  active,  the  brave.  Besides, 


PITCH  91 

sir,  we  have  no  election.  If  we  were  base  enough  to  desire  it,  it  is 
now  too  late  to  retire  from  the  contest.  There  is  no  retreat  but  in  sub- 
mission and  slavery  !  Our  chains  are  forged  !  Their  clanking  can  be 
heard  on  the  plains  of  Boston  !  The  war  is  inevitable  —  and  let  it 
come  !  I  repeat  it,  sir,  let  it  come  !  —  PATRICK  HENRY. 

RISING   AND    FALLING 

You  ask  what  I  have  to  say  in  my  defense,  —  you,  who  glory  in  the 
name  of  France,  who  wander  through  the  world  to  enrich  and  exalt  the 
land  of  your  birth,  —  you  demand  how  I  could  dare  to  arm  myself 
against  the  invaders  of  my  native  rocks  ?  Do  you  confine  the  love  of 
home  to  yourselves  ?  Do  you  punish  in  others  the  actions  which  you 
dignify  and  reward  among  yourselves  ?  Those  stars  which  glitter  on 
your  breasts,  do  they  hang  there  as  recompense  for  patient  servitude  ? 

I  see  the  smile  of  contempt  which  curls  your  lips.  You  say :  This 
brute,  —  he  is  a  ruffian,  a  beggar  !  That  patched  jacket,  that  ragged 
cap,  that  rusty  belt :  —  shall  barbarians  such  as  he  close  the  pass 
against  us,  shower  rocks  upon  our  heads,  and  single  out  our  leaders 
with  unfailing  aim,  —  these  grovelling  mountaineers,  who  know  not  the 
joys  and  brilliance  of  life,  creeping  amidst  eternal  snows,  and  snatching 
with  greedy  hand  their  stinted  ear  of  corn? 

Yet,  poor  as  we  are,  we  never  envied  our  neighbors  their  smiling 
sun,  their  gilded  palaces  ;  we  never  strayed  from  our  peaceful  huts  to 
blast  the  happiness  of  those  who  had  not  injured  us.  The  traveler 
who  visited  our  valleys  met  every  hand  outstretched  to  welcome  him ; 
for  him  every  hearth  blazed ;  with  delight  we  listened  to  his  tale  of 
other  lands.  Too  happy  for  ambition,  we  were  not  jealous  of  his 
wealth  ;  we  have  even  refused  to  partake  of  it.  —  ANDREAS  HOFER. 


LESSON     XXIII 

FORCE 

STRESS 

THE  way  we  exert  force,  and  the  amount  of  force,  do  not 
take  into  account  the  location  of  force  upon  the  different 
parts  of  the  sound  or  syllable,  which  is  called  stress. 

There  are  six  kinds  of  stress  : 

1.  Radical,  £^>.  or  force  on  the  first  part  of  the  syl- 

lable. 

2.  Final,  ~=^Z^)  or  force  on  the  last  part  of  the  syllable. 

3.  Compound,  O<O  or  f°rce  on  the  first  and   last 

parts  of  the  syllable. 

4.  Median,  <^^^>  or  force  on  the  middle  part  of  the 

syllable. 

5.  Thorough,  (          )  or  force  equally  on  all  parts  of 

the  syllable. 

6.  Intermittent,  COCO  or  force  applied  to  the  syllable 

tremulously,  or  in  little  jerks. 

Radical  stress,  or  force  on  the  first  part  of  the  syllable, 
needs  no  explanation.  It  is  the  stress  we  use  in  our  every- 
day conversation.  In  this  stress  we  speak  "  with  precision 
of  accent,"  with  a  "  prompt  stroke  or  attack  on  each  im- 
portant word  used." 

A  good  way  to  secure  the  radical  stress  is  to  strike  the 
palm  of  the  left  hand  with  the  right  fist  on  each  syllable  it 
is  desired  to  stress.  Example  : 

92 


FORCE  93 

My  liege,  your  anger  can  recall  your  trust, 
Annul  my  office,  spoil  me  of  my  lands, 
Rifle  my  coffers ;  but  my  name,  my  deeds, 
Are  royal  in  a  land  beyond  your  scepter. 

—  BULWER  LYTTON,  in  Richelieu. 

Final  stress,  or  force  upon  the  last  part  of  the  syllable, 
generally  signifies  self-assertion,  determination,  resolution, 
courage,  defiance.  Sometimes,  however,  it  expresses  amaze- 
ment, horror,  rebuke,  scorn,  hate,  revenge,  etc. 

A  good  way  to  secure  the  final  stress  is  to  push  into 
the  air  with  the  right  fist,  in  the  first  part  of  the  stroke  as 
if  you  were  pushing  something  away,  and  in  the  second 
part  as  if  that  something  had  given  away  before  your 
force.  Let  the  voice  follow  the  motion  of  the  hand. 
Examples : 

I  will  go. 
You  she? n't  go. 

Blaze  with  your  serried  columns  ! 

I  will  not  bent  the  knee  ! 
The  shackles  ne'er  again  shall  bind 

The  arm  which  now  is  free. 
I've  mailed  it  with  the  thunder, 

When  the  tempest  muttered  low  ; 
And  where  \\.  falls,  ye  well  may  dread 

The  lightning  of  its  blow  ! 

—  G.  W.  PATTEN,  in  The  Seminotes  Reply. 

Stay  there,  or  I'll  proclaim  you  to  the  house  and  the 
whole  street  /  If  you  try  to  evade  me,  I'll  stop  you,  if  it's 
by  the  hair,  and  raise  the  very  stones  against  you. 

—  DICKENS. 

Compound  stress,  or  force  upon  the  first  and  last  parts 
of  a  syllable,  is  a  combination  of  radical  and  final  stress. 
It  is  used  for  mockery,  satire,  sarcasm,  derision,  etc.,  when- 
ever "  one  wishes  to  say  one  thing  and  mean  another." 


94  FORCE 

To  get  this  stress,  make  the  gesture  for  the  radical 
stress  and  let  the  fist  slip  by  the  hand  in  the  stroke  for 
the  final.  Examples : 

He  is  a  nice  fellow. 
You  are  a  gentleman. 

Actuated  by  the  same  principle  of  choice,  he  has  now  on  the  anvil 
another  scheme,  full  of  difficulty  and  desperate  hazard,  which  totally 
alters  the  commercial  relation  of  two  kingdoms  ;  and,  what  end  soever 
it  shall  have,  may  bequeath  a  legacy  of  heart  burning  and  discontent  to 
one  of  the  countries,  perhaps  to  both,  to  be  perpetuated  to  the  latest 
posterity.  This  project  is  also  undertaken  with  the  hope  of  profit.  It 
is  provided  that,  out  of  some  (I  know  not  what)  remains  of  the  Irish 
hereditary  revenue,  a  fund  at  some  time,  and  of  some  sort,  should  be 
applied  to  the  protection  of  the  Irish  trade. 

—  BURKE,  in  Arraignment  of  the  Ministry. 

EXERCISES 

46.  Give  Ex.  13  gently  in  Radical,  Final,  and  Compound  Stress, 
using  the  gestures  appropriate  to  the  different  stresses. 

47.  Repeat  Ex.  46  in  increasing  degrees  of  force. 

NOTE. —  No  day  should  be  allowed  to  go  past  without  practicing  some 
exercises,  both  in  voice  and  action.  Growth  will  not  result  if  you 
practice  but  once  a  week,  and  then  for  an  hour  or  an  hour  and  a  half. 
Practice  for  a  short  time  only,  but  every  day. 


LESSON    XXIV 

FORCE  —  Continued 

STRESS  —  Continued 

Median  stress,  or  force  on  the  middle  part  of  the  syllable, 
gives  a  smooth,  gentle,  flowing  effect.  It  is  used  in  ex- 
pressing remorse,  feebleness,  suppressed  fear,  awe,  etc.,  and 
in  general  for  expressing  all  sad  moods. 

The  median  stress  may  be  obtained  by  causing  the 
hand  to  pursue  a  wave  line  in  the  air,  something  like  the 
following : 

Let   the   voice  follow   the   line 

^^^  """^^^    and  hand,  giving  a  gentle  swell 

in  the   middle   of   the  syllable. 
Examples : 

In  one  hour  joy  lay  without  a  pulse,  without  a  gleam,  or  breath.  A 
sorrow  came  that  swept  through  the  land  as  huge  storms  sweep  through 
the  forest  and  field,  rolling  thunder  along  the  sky,  disheveling  the 
flowers,  daunting  every  singer  in  thicket  or  forest,  and  pouring  black- 
ness and  darkness  across  the  land  and  up  the  mountains.  Did  ever  so 
many  hearts,  in  so  brief  a  time,  touch  two  such  boundless  feelings  ? 
It  was  the  uttermost  of  joy ;  it  was  the  uttermost  of  sorrow  —  noon  and 
midnight,  without  a  space  between. 

—  BEECHER,  in  The  Martyr  President. 

Thorough  stress,  or  force  upon  all  parts  alike,  as  will 
easily  be  seen,  is  a  sort  of  continued  force,  as  if  the  force 
were  prolonged  until  it  should  take  effect.  It  is  used 
generally  for  some  kind  of  calling,  such  as  shouting, 
triumph,  command,  apostrophe,  etc. 

95 


Q6  FORCE 

To  secure  thorough  stress,  a  good  way  is  to  make  the 
hand  and  voice  follow  a  line  something  like  the  following  : 


Examples : 

Bid  him  forward,  breast  and  back  as  either  should  be. 

Strive  and  thrive1,  cry  "  Speed"  —  fight  on,  fare  ever 

There  as  here !  —  BROWNING. 

Ho !  sound  the  tocsin  from  the  tower, 

Andjire  the  culver  in  ! 
Bid  each  retainer  arm   with  speed,  — 

Call  every  vassal  in ! 
—  A.  G.  GREENE  in  «  The  Baron's  Last  Banquet." 

"  Forward,  the  Light  Brigade  ! 
Charge  for  the  guns  !  "  he  said  : 
Into  the  valley  of  Death 

Rode  the  six  hundred.  —  TENNYSON. 

Intermittent  stress,  or  force  applied  to  the  syllable 
tremulously,  or  in  little  jerks,  is  used  to  denote  any  state  of 
bodily  agitation,  such  as  shivering  or  trembling ;  or  to  ex- 
tend these  to  their  causes,  feebleness,  timidity,  grief,  alarm, 
terror,  rage,  etc. 

A  very  good  way  to  secure  the  intermittent  stress  is  to 
shiver  all  over  with  the  cold,  actually  making  the  whole 
body  shiver.  Use  the  sentence,  "  My  /  But  it  is  cold  !  " 
After  this  has  been  done,  drop  the  shivering  from  the 
body,  but  keep  the  shiver  in  the  voice.  After  you  have 
the  stress  upon  the  word  COLD,  you  can  easily  extend  it  to 
revenge,  feebleness,  etc.  Example  : 

Pity  the  sorrows  of  a  poor  old  man, 

Whose  trembling  limbs  have  borne  him  to  your  door, 
Whose  days  are  dwindled  to  the  shortest  span ; 

Oh!  give  relief,  and  Heav'n  will  bless  your  store. 

—  THOMAS-MOSS  in  The  Beggar. 


FORCE  97 

You  old  Tyrant! 

Not  know  my  voice !     O  timers  extremity, 

Hast  thou  so  cracked  and  splitted  my  poor  tongue 

In  seven  short  years,  that  here  my  only  son 

Knows  not  my  feeble  key  of  untun'd  cares? 

Though  now  this  grained  face  of  mine  be  hid 

In  sap-consuming  winter's  drizzling  snow 

And  all  the  conduits  of  my  blood  froze  up, 

Yet  hath  my  night  of  life  some  memory, 

My  wasting  lamps  some  fading  glimmer  left, 

My  dull  deaf  ears  a  little  use  to  hear. 

All  these  old  witnesses  —  I  cannot  err  — 

Tell  me  thou  art  my  son  Antipholus.  —  SHAKESPEARE. 

Wretch,  touch  him  again  at  your  peril !  I  will  not  stand  by  and  see 
it  done.  My  blood  is  up,  and  I  have  the  strength  of  ten  such  men  as 
you.  By  Heaven!  I  will  not  spare  you,  if  you  drive  me  on!  I  have  a 
series  of  personal  insults  to  avenge,  and  my  indignation  is  aggravated 
by  the  cruelties  practised  in  this  cruel  den.  Have  a  care,  or  the  conse- 
quences will  fall  heavily  upon  your  head.  —  DICKENS. 

EXERCISES 

48.  Give  Ex.  13  in  median,  thorough,  and  intermittent  stress. 

49.  Give  Ex.  13  with  each  kind  of  stress,  thinking  the  several  senti- 
ments clear  through  the  list.     Take  sorrow,  then  reverence,  then  com- 
mand, then  calling,  etc.     See  if  some  one  can  guess  the  sentiment  you 
have  in  mind  by  the  way  you  give  the  exercise. 


PUB.  SPEAK.  —  7 


LESSON    XXV 
GESTURE.     THE  CLENCHED  HAND 

ALL  students  have  probably  noticed  that  when  people 
become  very  angry,  and  wish  to  make  things  very  emphatic, 
they  shake  their  fists  at  one  another.  This  fact  gives  rise 
to  one  of  the  most  powerful  gestures  that  an  orator  can 
use,  — that  is,  the  clenched  hand. 

The  clenched  hand  is  formed  by  folding  all  the  fingers 
into  the  palm  of  the  hand,  and  firmly  locking  them  there 


FlG.  43.     The  correct             FIG.  44.    A  wrong  form  FlG.  45.     A  wrong  form 

form  of  the  clenched                of  the  clenched  hand  of  the  clenched  hand 

hand.                                          —  with     the     thumb  —  the   thumb   at  the 

doubled  under.  side  of  the  hand. 

by  passing  the  thumb  over  the  knuckles,  —  generally  over 
the  second  joint,  or  knuckle,  of  the  middle  finger.  (See 
Fig.  430 

CAUTION.  —  Do  not  double  the  thumb  under,  as  shown  in 
Figure  44. 

98 


THE    CLENCHED    HAND 


99 


CAUTION.  —  Do  not  allow  the  thumb  to  be  out  at  the  side 
of  the  hand,  as  shown  in  Figure  45. 

The  clenched  hand  is  used  in  hate,  anger,  revenge,  de- 
fiance, and  in  many  cases  where  it  is  desired  that  some- 


FIG.  46.  Striking  across 
the  body  with  the  fist  — 
a  wrong  use. 


FIG.  47.  The  correct  use 
of  the  fist  gesture  — 
striking  straight  out. 


thing  shall  be  especially  emphatic.      It  is  a  very  strong 
gesture,  and  should  not  be  used  often. 

CAUTION.  —  In  the  use  of  the  Clenched  Hand,  do  not  for- 
get the  stroke.  In  many  cases,  the  spring  at  the  wrist  will 
develop  into  a  slight  rebound,  but  do  not  neglect  the  stroke. 

CAUTION.  —  Do  not  strike  sidewise  across  the  body,  as 
shown  in  Figure  46,  but  strike  straight  out,  as  in  Figure  47. 

Examples : 

I  defy  you! 

You  are  a  coward ! 

My  lords,  you  cannot  conquer  America.  What  is  your  present  situa- 
tion there  ?  We  do  not  know  the-  worst ;  but  we  know  that  in  three 
campaigns  we  have  done  nothing  and  suffered  much.  Besides  the  suf- 
fering, perhaps  total  loss,  of  the  northern  force,  the  best  appointed  army 
that  ever  took  the  field,  commanded  by  Sir  William  Howe,  has  retired 
from  the  American  lines.  He  was  obliged  to  relinquish  his  attempt, 


100  THE  CLENCHED    HAND 

and,  with  great  delay  and  danger,  to  adopt  a  new  and  distant  place 
of  operations.  We  shall  soon  know,  and  in  any  event  have  reason 
to  lament,  what  may  have  happened  since. 

As  to  the  conquest,  therefore,  my  lords,  I  repeat,  it  is  impossible. 
You  may  swell  every  expense  and  every  effort  still  more  extravagantly ; 
pile  and  accumulate  every  assistance  you  can  buy  or  borrow ;  traffic 
and  barter  with  every  little  pitiful  German  prince  that  sells  and  sends 
his  subjects  to  the  shambles  of  a  foreign  prince.  Your  efforts  are  for 
ever  vain  and  impotent,  —  doubly  so  from  this  mercenary  aid  on  which 
you  rely.  For  it  irritates,  to  an  incurable  resentment,  the  minds  of  your 
enemies,  to  overrun  them  with  the  mercenary  sons  of  rapine  and 
plunder ;  devoting  them  and  their  possessions  to  the  rapacity  of  hire- 
ling cruelty !  If  I  were  an  American,  as  I  am  an  Englishman,  I  never 
would  lay  down  my  arms  —  never,  —  never,  —  never! 

—  WILLIAM  PITT. 
EXERCISES 

NOTE.  —  In  these  exercises  extend  the  forward  foot  its  whole  length 
or  more,  keeping  both  feet,  however,  flat  on  the  floor.  When  making 
gestures  to  the  left,  have  the  left  foot  foward. 

50.  Give  the  Clenched  Hand  with  the  right  hand  toward  the  floor 
obliquely  in  front  of  you  to  the  right ;  toward  the   wall ;  toward  the 
ceiling.     Repeat  three  times. 

51.  Repeat  Ex.  50,  except  put  the  gesture  in  front  of  you. 

52.  Execute  Ex.  50  and  Ex.  51  with  the  left  hand  to  the  left  and  in 
front  of  you. 

53.  Execute  gestures  with  both  hands  clenched  toward  the  floor 
obliquely  to  the  right  in  front,  toward  the  wail,  and  toward  the  ceiling. 
Do  the  same  directly  in  front  ;  also  to  the  left.     Don't  forget  to  change 
feet  when  you  make  the  gestures  to  the  left. 

54.  Try  gestures  with  each  hand,  and  with  both,  to  the  following 
counts,  striking  on  the  black  figures  : 

1,2,3,4  5,6,7,8,  9,10,11,12,  13,14,15,16. 

i,  2, 3  4,  5,  6,  7,  8  9,  10,  11,  12. 

i,2,  3,4,  5,6,  7,   8. 

i,  2,  3,4,  i,  2,3,  i,  2,  i,  2,  3,  4. 

Be  vigorous  in  your  counting,  as  if  you  were  angry. 

55.  Try  the  Clenched  Hand,  with  one  and  both  hands,  in  all  sorts  of 
positions  and  directions.     Say  aloud  the  words~that  come  to  your  mind 
when  you  make  some  of  these  gestures. 


LESSON   XXVI 


THE   SIGNIFICANCE   OF    POSITION 

THE  student  has  thus  far  known  positions  merely  as 
mechanical  arrangements  of  the  feet.  By  this  time  he 
may  begin  to  study 
their  significance. 

Position  A.  —  The 
positions  described 
in  Lesson  I,  as  al- 
ready stated,  are  the 
ordinary  positions. 
They  are  used  for 
narration,  descrip- 
tion, and  all  ordinary 
thoughts  where  there 
is  no  great  emo- 
tion. 

Position  B.  - 
When  position  A  is 
enlarged  by  step- 
ping out  farther  with 
the  forward  foot, 
and  allowing  the 
back  heel  to  leave 

the  floor,  it  becomes  FIG  ^   Columbus.  See  note>  p.  Ic6> 

stronger,  and  is  used 
for  solicitation,  entreaty,  earnestness,  and  appeal. 

In  addition  to  these,  the  student  may  by  this  time  feel 


102 


THE  SK/MFICANCE  OF  POSITION 


FIG.  49.    A    position   for   dignified  oratorical  utterance.     Tiie  Niehaus  statue  of 
Garfield  at  Cincinnati.     From  Lorado  Taft's  American  Sculpture,  by  permission. 


THE   SIGNIFICANCE   OF   POSITION  103 

the  need  of  still  more  emphatic  positions,  especially  when 
he  is  making  gestures,  and  below  a  few  are  given. 

Position  A  Major.  —  Exactly  like  the  position  described 
in  Lesson  I  is  another  position  in  which  the  forward  foot  is 
placed  its  full  length  in  advance,  instead  of  half  its  length. 
See  Figure  49. 

NOTE.  —  In  this  position,  because  the  feet  are  farther  apart,  there  is 
a  tendency  to  put  the  weight  either  on  the  front  foot  or  the  back  foot. 
The  student  may  do  either,  provided  he  always  keeps  the  weight  more 
on  the  front  foot  in  aggressive  moods. 

This  position  may  be  used  to  denote  anything  bold,  lofty, 
dignified,  heroic,  or  impassioned. 

Position  B  Major.  — An  enlarged  form  of  the  Position  B 
is  also  often  used,  in  which  the  forward  foot  is  extended 
twice  its  own  length  instead  of  once  its  own  length.  When 
the  weight  is  on  the  forward  foot,  the  front  knee  is  bent, 
and  when  the  weight  is  on  the  back  foot,  the  back  knee 
is  bent.  The  weight  may  be  on  either  foot.  See  Figs. 
50  and  5 1  for  valuable  studies  in  this  and  other  positions. 

This  position,  when  the  weight  is  on  the  forward  foot,  is 
used  for  courage,  defiance,  aggression,  and  strength.  When 
the  weight  is  on  the  back  foot,  it  signifies  awe,  fear,  dread, 
amazement,  terror,  etc.  Examples  : 

POSITION    FOR   APPEAL    OR    WELCOME 

Oh,  save  me,  Hubert,  save  me  !   my  eyes  are  out, 
Even  with  the  fierce  looks  of  these  bloody^men. 

—  SHAKESPEARE. 
Welcome,  Cassius  !     Welcome,  friends  ! 

—  SHAKESPEARE. 

POSITION    FOR    DEFIANCE 

Here  I  stand  for  impeachment  or  accusation.     I  dare  accusation. 

—  GRATTAN. 


IO4 


THE    SIGNIFICANCE    OF    POSITION 


FlG.  50.     A  study  in  position.     A  scene  in  Monsieur  Beaucaii  e. 


FIG.  51.    A  study  in  averse  gesture.    A  scene  in  Leah  Kleshna. 


THE    SIGNIFICANCE   OF   POSITION  105 

Go  home,  if  you  dare,  —  go  home,  if  you  can,  —  to  your  constituents 
and  tell  them  that  you  voted  it  down.  — CLAY. 


VERY   AGGRESSIVE    POSITION,    FORWARD 

The  right  honorable  gentleman  has  called  me  "an  unimpeached 
traitor."  I  ask  why  not  traitor,  unqualified  by  any  epithet !  I  will  tell 
him  !  It  was  because  he  durst  not  !  It  was  the  act  of  a  coward  who 
raises  his  arm  to  strike,  but  has  not  the  courage  to  give  the  blow. 

—  GRATTAN. 
Brutus.    And  let  me  tell  you,  Cassius, 

You  yourself  are  much  condemned  to  have  an  itching  palm, 
To  sell  and  mart  your  offices  for  gold  to  undeservers. 
Cassius.    I  an  itching  palm! 

You  know  that  you  are  Brutus  that  speak  this. 
Brutus.    The  name  of  Cassius  honors  this  corruption, 

And  chastisement  doth  therefore  hide  his  head. 
Cassius.   Chastisement !  —  SHAKESPEARE. 

SHRINKING    POSITION,    BACKWARD 

O,  look  !  methinks  I  see  my  cousin's  ghost 
Seeking  out  Romeo,  that  did  spit  his  body 
Upon  a  rapier's  point.  —  SHAKESPEARE. 

EXERCISES 

56.  Take  the  following  positions  in  order : 

Position  A,  with  the  right  foot  forward. 
Position  A,  with  the  left  foot  forward. 
Position  B,  with  the  right  foot  forward. 
Position  B,  with  the  left  foot  forward. 
Position  B  Major,  forward,  to  the  right. 
Position  B  Major,  forward,  to  the  left. 

57.  Take  the  following  in  order : 

Position  A,  with  the  right  foot  forward. 
Position  A,  with  the  left  foot  forward. 
Position  A  Major,  with  the  right  foot  forward. 
Position  A  Major,  with  the  left  foot  forward. 


106  THE    SIGNIFICANCE   OF   POSITION 

58.  Take  the  following  in  order : 

Position  A,  with  the  right  foot  forward. 
Position  B  Major,  forward,  to  the  right. 
Position  B  Major,  backward,  to  the  left. 

Repeat  the  last  two  rapidly  one  after  the  other.  Use  the  opposite 
positions  also. 

59.  Take  the  following  in  order : 

Position  A,  with  the  right  foot  forward. 
Position  B  Major,  forward,  to  the  right. 

Repeat  this,  stamping  with  the  forward  foot  and  imitating  a  sword 
thrust.  Use  the  opposite  positions  also. 

60.  Repeat  Ex.  59,  using  the  sword  thrust  on  the  forward  foot,  and 
the  hands  spread,  as  if  in  terror,  on  the  back  foot. 

Note  on  Fig.  48,  p.  103.  The  Bartlett  statue  of  Columbus.  From 
Lorado  TafVs  American  Sculpture,  by  permission.  Mr.  Taft  says  of 
this  statue,  "  It  shows  us  the  discoverer  in  a  new  light ;  no  longer  the 
gentle  dreamer,  the  eloquent  pleader,  the  enthusiast,  nor  yet  the  silent 
victim  in  chains,  but  a  hero  of  might  and  confidence  hurling  proud 
defiance  at  his  calumniators." 


LESSON   XXVII 

PITCH 

THE   SLIDE 

Now  that  the  student  has  noticed  the  upward  and 
downward  slides  of  the  voice,  it  may  be  well  to  give  a  few 
simple  cases  of  their  use. 

As  a  general  rule,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  Rising  Slide 
accompanies  all  incomplete  mental  states,  while  the  Fall- 
ing Slide  accompanies  completed  ones. 

SPECIAL    CASES 

CASE  I.  —  Where  one's  mind  is  not  quite  made  up  in 
regard  to  something,  the  voice  often  takes  a  rising  slide. 

I  think  I  shall  go. 
Well,  —  let  me  see. 

CASE  II.  —  All  clauses  and  expressions  in  sentences 
where  the  thought  is  not  complete  without  something  that 
follows  take  the  rising  slide. 

The  instructive  lesson  of  history,  teaching  by  example,  can  nowhere 

be  studied  with  more  profit,  or  better  promise,  than  in  this  Revolution- 
ary period  of  America.  —  SPARKS. 

In  every  enlightened  age,  eloquence  has  been  a  controlling  factor 
in  human  affairs.  —  STANTON. 

Sans  teeth,  sans  eyes,  sans  taste,  sans  everything.  —  SHAKESPEARE. 

CASE  III. — Surprise,  implying  "Is  it  so?"  takes  the 
rising  slide. 

107 


IOS  PITCH 

Let  them  out  !     No  ! 
You  !  Where  in  the  world  did  you  come  from  ? 

NOTE.  — When  the  question  has  left  the  mind,  and  one  is  fully  settled 
that  it  is  "  You,"  then  the  slide  will  take  the  other  direction. 

CASE  IV.  —  Questions  that  can  be  answered  by  "Yes" 
or  "  No  "  take  the  rising  slide. 

Are  you  going  ? 
Is  he  there  ? 
You  are  to  be  there  ? 
He  is  a  soldier? 

NOTE.  —  When  it  is  desired  to  make  a  question  very  emphatic,  the 
rising  slide  may  be  given  on  all  the  principal  syllables.  Example : 

Me^  there,  in  the  dark  prison  ? 

CASE  V.  —  The  names  of  persons  addressed,  if  some- 
thing more  is  immediately  to  follow,  take  the  rising  slide. 

John,  come  here. 

Fellow  Citizens,  I  am  here  this  evening,  etc. 

CAUTION.  —  Rules  are  treacherous  things.  In  all  cases 
get  back  to  life  and  the  real  thought  intended.  "How 
would  this  person  have  said  this  under  these  circum- 
stances?" and  uWhat  do  I  really  mean?"  are  good 
questions  to  ask  yourself.  They  will  generally  determine 
the  inflection  correctly. 

EXERCISES 

61.  Give  the  word  hurrah  with  a  curve  of  voice  something  like  the 
following : 


Repeat  several  times,  making  the  slide  very  plain. 


PITCH  lOQ 

62.    Give  the  words  "  Oh  V    Is  it  you  ?  "  with  a  course  of  voice  some- 
thing like  this. 


Repeat  several  times. 

63.  Commence  the  following  at  lowest  pitch,  giving  to  each  word  a 
short  rising  slide  on  each  successively  higher  pitch  ;  aim  at  smoothness, 
and  gradually  increase  the  length  of  inflections  : 

breath  ? 
fleeting 
the 
call 

mansion 
its 
to 

back 
bust 

animated 
or 
urn 

storied 
Can 

64.  Repeat  the  following  with  falling  slides  : 
Can 

honor's 

voice 

provoke 

the 
silent 

dust 
or 

flattery 

soothe 

the 
dull 
cold 
ear 
of 
death  ? 


LESSON    XXVIII 
PITCH  —  Continued 

THE  SLIDE  —  Continued 

IN  the  last  lesson,  it  was  learned  that  the  falling  slide 
is  used  to  denote  completed  mental  states.  Below  are  given 
a  few  simple  cases. 

CASE  I.  —  The  end  of  a  sentence,  when  the  thought  is 
complete,  takes  the  falling  slide. 

He  hath  done  good  service,  lady,  in  these  wars. 

CASE  II.  —  Clauses,  phrases,  and  words,  when  occurring 
in  a  series,  may  be  made  more  emphatic  by  giving  each  the 
falling  slide : 

Clauses  ; 

They  have  discovered  that  political  equality  does  not  result  in  social 
fraternity  ;  that  under  a  democracy  the  concentration  of  greater  political 
power  in  fewer  hands,  the  accumulation  and  aggregation  of  greater 
amounts  of  wealth  in  individuals,  are  more  possible  than  under  a  mon- 
archy ;  and  that  there  is  a  tyranny  more  fatal  than  the  tyranny  of  kings. 

—  J.  J.  INGALLS. 

Phrases  ; 

To  elevate  the  morals  of  our  people ;  to  hold  up  the  law  as  that 
sacred  thing,  which,  like  the  ark  of  God  of  old,  cannot  be  touched  by 
irreverent  hands  ;  to  frown  upon  every  attempt  to  displace  its_supremacy  ; 
and  to  unite  our  people  in  all  that  makes  home  pure  and  honorable,  as 
well  as  to  give  our  energies  to  the  material  advancement  of  the  country : 
these  services  we  may  render  every  day. —  BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 

Words: 

The  application  of  steam  to  locomotion  o»  land  and  sea,  the  cotton 
gin,  electric  illumination  and  telegraphy,  the  cylinder  printing  press,  the 


PITCH  1 1  i 

sewing  machine,  the  photographic  art,  tubular  and  suspension  brklges, 
the  telephone,  the  spectroscope,  and  the  myriad  forms  of  new  applica- 
tions of  science  to  health  and  domestic  comfort,  to  the  arts  of  peace  and 
war,  have  alone  rendered  democracy  possible.  —  J.  J.  INGALLS. 

CASE    III.  —  Questions   that   cannot    be    answered   by 
"  Yes  "  or  "  No  "  take  the  falling  slide. 

Who  were  there? 

I  pray  you,  who  is  he? 

Why  do  you  go  away  ? 

CASE  IV.  —  Exclamations  and  commands  take  the  fall- 
ing slide. 

Farewell,  sweet  child,  farewell !  —  MACAULAY. 

Oh !  the  side  glance  of  that  detested  eye  ! 

That  conscious  smile  !  that  full  insulting  lip ! 

It  touches  every  nerve ;  it  makes  me  mad  !  —  BAILLIE. 

Then,  sing  ye  birds,  sing,  sing  a  joyous  song! 

And  let  the  young  lambs  bound 

As  to  the  tabor's  sound! 

We  in  thought  will  join  your  throng, 

Ye  that  pipe  and  ye  that  play, 

Ye  that  through  your  hearts  to-day 

Feel  the  gladness  of  the  May !  —  WORDSWORTH. 

EXERCISES 

65.  Practice  the  following  with  strong  inflection  and  volume: 

Ship  ahoy! 

Forward  the  light  brigade! 
Charge,  Chester,  charge! 
On,  Stanley,  on! 

The  foe!     They  come!     They  come  ! 
To  arms !     They  come  !     The  Greek !     The  Greek  ! 

66.  Extend  the  arms  horizontally  in  front ;  rotate  the  hands  from 
the  wrists  without  moving  the  fingers.     First  start  the  hands  inward 
and  after  eight  counts  reverse  them. 


LESSON    XXIX. 


PLANES  OF   GESTURE 

IN  watching  a  skillful  orator,  one  notices  that  on  certain 

sentiments   his   gestures   seek   a 

high  plane,  while  on  certain 
others  they  seek  a  low  plane. 
When  should  a  gesture  be  made 
upward,  and  when  downward? 
This  is  governed  by  definite  laws, 
which  are  given  below. 

All  the  different  gestures,  rang- 
ing from  that  of  the  hand  point- 
ing straight  upward  to  that  of  the 
hand  pointing  straight  downward, 
may  be  divided  into  three  zones, 
or  planes  :  The  upper  zone  or 
plane,  the  middle  zone  or  plane  and 
the  lower  zone  or  plane.  These 
occupy  each  about  one  third  the 
distance  covered,  the  middle  zone, 
perhaps,  being  a  little  narrower 
than  the  other  two. 

The  upper  zone  is  used  to  de- 
note things  that  are  joyous,  hopeful,  triumphant,  patriotic, 
poetical,  spiritual,  etc.  Examples  : 

God  bless  our  country's  flag  !  And  God  be  with  us,  now  and  ever, 
God  in  the  roof  tree's  shade  and  God  on  the  highway,  God  in  the  wind 
and  waves,  and  God  in  all  our  hearts  !  —  HENRY  WATTERSON. 


FIG.  52.    The  planes  of  gesture. 


PLANES   OF    GESTURE  113 

While  the  Union  lasts,  we  have  high,  exciting,  gratifying  prospects 
spread  out  before  us,  for  us  and  our  children.  Beyond  that  I  seek 
not  to  penetrate  the  veil.  God  grant  that,  in  m'y  day,  at  least,  that 
curtain  may  not  rise!  God  grant  that  on  my  vision  never  may  be 
opened  what  lies'  behind !  When  my  eyes  shall  be  turned  to  behold, 
for  the  last  time,  the  sun  in  heaven,  may  I  not  see  him  shining  on  the 
broken  and  dishonored  fragments  of  a  once  glorious  Union ;  on  States 
dissevered,  discordant,  belligerent ;  on  a  land  rent  with  civil  feuds,  or 
drenched,  it  may  be,  with  fraternal  blood  !  Let  their  last  feeble  and  linger- 
ing glance  rather  behold  the  gorgeous  ensign  of  the  Republic,  now 
known  and  honored  throughout  the  earth,  still  full  high  advanced,  its 
arms  and  trophies  streaming  in  their  original  luster,  not  a  stripe  erased 
or  polluted,  nor  a  single  star  obscured;  bearing  for  its  motto,  no  such 
miserable  interrogatory  as,  "What  is  all  this  worth?  "  nor  those  other 
words  of  delusion  and  folly,  "  Liberty  first,  and  Union  afterwards " ; 
but  everywhere,  spread  all  over  in  characters  of  living  light,  blazing  on 
all  its  ample  folds,  as  they  float  over  the  sea  and  over  the  land,  and  in 
every  wind  under  the  whole  heavens,  that  other  sentiment,  dear  to 
every  true  American  heart,  "  Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one 
and  inseparable  !  "  —  WEBSTER. 

The  middle  zone  is  used  for  narration,  description,  address, 
welcome,  command,  conciliation,  etc.  It  is  the  zone  most 
generally  used  for  all  the  relations  that  a  man  bears  to 
his  fellow-men.  Examples : 

The  time  is  come,  the  tyrant  points  his  eager  hand  this  way ; 

See  how  his  eyes  gloat  on  thy  grief,  like  a  kite's  upon  the  prey; 

With  all  his  wit,  he  little  deems  that,  spurned,  betrayed,  bereft, 

Thy  father  hath,  in  his  despair,  one  fearful  refuge  left ; 

He  little  deems  that  in  this  hand,  I  clutch  what  still  can  save 

Thy  gentle  youth  from  taunts  and  blows,  the  portion  of  the  slave ; 

Yes,  and  from  nameless  evil,  that  passeth  taunt  and  blow, — 

Foul  outrage,  which  thou  knowest  not,  —  which  thou  shalt  never  know. 

Then  clasp  me  round  the  neck  once  more,  and  give  me  one  more  kiss  ; 

And  now,  my  own  dear  little  girl,  there  is  no  way  but  this! 

B  —  MACAULAY. 

"  Halt !  "  —  the  dust-brown  ranks  stood  fast ; 

"  Fire!  "  —  out  blazed  the  rifle  blast.  —  WHITTIER. 

PUB.  SPEAK.  —  8 


114  PLANES   OF   GESTURE 

Within  our  own  territory,  stretching  through  many  degrees  of  latitude 
and  longitude,  we  have  the  choice  of  many  products  and  many  means  of 
independence.  The  government  is  mild.  The  press  is  free.  Religion 
is  free.  Knowledge  reaches  or  may  reach  every  home.  What  fairer 
prospect  of  success  could  be  presented?  What  means  more  adequate 
to  accomplish  the  sublime  end?  —  STORY. 

The  lower  zone  or  plane,  is  used  for  things  emphatic,  force- 
ful, determined ;  also  for  gloom,  doubt,  hate,  revenge, 
murder,  etc.  Examples  : 

I  loathe  ye  in  my  bosom, 

I  scorn  ye  with  mine  eye, 
And  Til  taunt  ye  with  my  latest  breath, 

And  fight  ye  till  I  die  !  —  PATTEN. 

But  you,  wretch  !  you  could  creep  through  the  world  unaffected  by 
its  various  disgraces,  its  ineffable  miseries,  its  constantly  accumulating 
masses  of  crime  and  sorrow ;  —  you  could  live  and  enjoy  yourself  while 
the  noble  minded  were  betrayed,  —  while  the  nameless  and  birthless 
villains  trod  on  the  neck  of  the  brave  and  long-descended :  you  could 
enjoy  yourself  like  a  butcher's  dog  in  the  shambles,  fattening  on  gar- 
bage, while  the  slaughter  of  the  brave  went  on  around  you  !  This  en- 
joyment you  shall  not  live  to  partake  of  :  you  shall  die,  base  dog  ! 
—  and  that  before  yon  cloud  has  passed  o.ver  the  sun  ! 

EXERCISES 

67.  Give  the  following  sentences  with  gestures  in  the  proper  planes. 

He  generously  extended  the  arm  of  power  to  ward  off  the  blow. 

Thou  tempting  fiend,  avaunt! 

I  repel  the  base  insinuation! 

Aspire  to  the  highest  and  noblest  sentiments. 

Prevail  in  the  cause  that  is  dearer  than  life, 

Or  be  crushed  in  its  ruins  to  die. 

68.  Execute  the  hand  with  the  palm  down,  the  hand  with  the  palm 
up,  and  the  clenched  hand,  singly  with  each  hand,  and  then  with  both 
hands,  in  all  the  zones,  obliquely  to  the  right,  in  front,  and  obliquely  to 
the  left.     Write  out  the  sentiments  that  occur  when  you  do  this,  and 
bring  them  to  class.     You  may  give  the  words^if  you  prefer  them  to  the 
sentiments.     Tell  where  each  gesture  was  made  for  each  set  of  words. 


LESSON    XXX 
SPEECH   MELODY 

IT  must  be  evident  to  the  student,  from  what  has  gone 
before,  that  the  voice  in  speaking  is  continually  taking 
steps  and  slides  up  and  down,  in  various  combinations. 
This  is  called  the  Melody  of  Speech.  Two  combinations 
of  the  slides  are  given  below. 

Contrasts.  —  Wherever  there  are  two  terms  contrasted, 
the  first  takes  the  rising  slide,  and  the  second  the  falling 
slide.  If  there  is  a  choice  given  between  three,  the  first 
two  take  the  rising  and  the  last  the  falling.  Examples  : 

Sink  or  swim,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  give  my  hand  and  heart 
to  this  vote.  —  WEBSTER. 

Will  you  go  to  the  theater,  to  the  party,  or  to  the  beach  ? 

Interrupted  quotation.  —  Often  such  phrases  as  "  he 
said,"  or  "  said  he  with  embarrassment,"  etc.,  interrupt  a 
quotation.  In  such  cases  let  the  slides  of  the  interrupting 
words  have  the  same  direction  as  that  on  the  last  preceding 
word  of  the  quotation.  Of  course  the  slides  need  not  be 
as  long.  Examples  : 

"  Now,  Fred,"  said  the  trapp~eir,  "  the  time  is  sartinly  come  for  us  to 
show  the  grit  that's  in  us." 

"Hoaw  far  behind  is  John  Norton?  "  said  the  man  on  the  wharf. 

GENERAL  LAW  OF  MELODY 

|     Many  more  laws  for  the  use  of  the  steps  and  slides  could 
be  given,  but  usually  the  mind  of  the  student  will  determine 

"5 


SPEECH    MELODY 


s        § 


8     I 


2          §  S 


§  S 


S          §  S 


§       g  §  S 


SPEECH   MELODY  1 1/ 

each  case  rightly  without  further  rules.  The  following 
general  law  may  be  found  of  use.  The -voice  descends  on 
the  relatively  unimportant  parts  of  a  sentence  to  make  the 
strong  rising  slides,  and  ascends  on  the  relatively  unimpor- 
tant parts  to  make  the  strong  falling  slides. 

CAUTION.  —  No  matter  how  great  the  temptation,  never 
allow  the  voice  to  rise  and  fall  merely  for  the  sake  of  the 
sound.  The  thought  should  always  govern  the  melody. 

NOTE  I.  —  It  sometimes  happens  that  a  word  has  the  rising  and 
falling  slides  combined,  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  wave.  This  may  either 

be  a  wave  upward  (  x* "x)?  or  a  wave  downward  (x^__^X)«     In 

some  cases,  even,  more  than  one  wave  is  found  (  '^\^J)>  or 
(  V^_/^^  )•  Examples  of  a  few  such  waves  are  seen  in  Figure  52. 

NOTE  2.  —  Often,  too,  a  slide  is  started  downward,  but  as  it  nears  its 
end,  the  next  thought  comes  to  the  mind,  and  the  end  of  the  slide  is 
turned  back  up.  Or  the  opposite  may  take  place,  and  a  slide  started  up 
may  be  turned  down  at  the  end.  These  cases  often  occur  at  the  close 
of  clauses  in  a  sentence. 

EXAMPLES   OF   MELODY  * 

NOTE.  —  To  save  space,  the  selections  will  be  given  first,  and  after- 
wards their  melody,  indicated  by  short  lines  for  the  steps  and  long 
lines  for  the  slides.  It  will  be  a  saving  of  the  pupil's  time  if  the  same 
method  is  used  in  class.  It  has  the  advantage,  too,  of  showing  plainly 
whether  a  slide  or  a  step  is  meant,  which  cannot  be  done  when  the 
words  themselves  are  arranged.  Be  sure  to  get  a  line  for  each  syllable, 
or  there  will  be  a  great  deal  of  confusion  when  you  come  to  read  your 
melody. 

He  has  done  the  murder:  no  eye  has  seen  him,  no  ear  has  heard 
him.  The  secret  is  his  own,  and  it  is  safe.  Ah,  Gentlemen,  that  was  a 
dreadful  mistake.  Such  a  secret  can  be  safe  nowhere.  The  whole 
creation  of  God  has  neither  nook  nor  corner  where  the  guilty  can  bestow 
it,  and  say  it  is  safe.  — WEBSTER. 

*  See  footnote  at  the  bottom  of  page  84. 


SPEECH   MELODY 


The  day  is  done,  and  the  darkness 
Falls  from  the  wings  of  Night 

As  a  feather  is  wafted  downward 
From  an  eagle  in  his  flight. 


Still  at  the  bayonet's  point  he  stood,  and  strong  to  meet  the  blow : 
And   shouted,    'midst   his   rushing   blood,  "  Arm !     Arm !     Auvergne ! 

The  foe!" 

The  stir,  the  tramp,  the  bugle  call,  he  heard  their  tumult  grow : 
And  sent  his  dying  voice  through  all,  —  "  AuveTgne !     Auvergne !     The 

foe!     The  foe!11 


SPEECH   MELODY 


119 


EXERCISES  IN  WRITING  MELODY 

1.  Write  out  the  melody  for  one  of  your  high  school 
yells. 

2.  Write  out  the  melody  for  some  two  stanzas  of  a  poem 
that  you  know  or  can  get  out  of  a  book. 

3.  Write  out  the  melody  for  some  one  of  the  oratorical 
extracts  found  in  this  book. 

To  THE  TEACHER.  —  It  might  be  well  to  have  one  student  write 
out  on  the  blackboard  the  melody  for  a  stanza,  and  then  have  some  other 
student  read  it  as  written. 


My  an-ces-tors,  ha-ving  ar-rived    in  this  coun-try  a-mong  the  ear-ly  sett-lers 


1  —  -\  —  1 

M51 

on  the  one  side  in  New  York     on   the  oth-er  in  NewEng-Iand,     and  ha-ving  fall-en    in 


love,  and  mar-ried     in  the  old     fash-ioned    way, 

FlG.  54.    Musical  notation  of  Figure  55. 


120 


SPEECH    MELODY 


T      T       I 

N        «o 

8 


S         8         g 

I      7       I 


S 


^—          <0 


\ 


s 


c    • 


.1. 


g       §      g 
T      T       I 


I       I       I 

s      §      g 


S  SoS  S 


SPEECH    MELODY 


121 


* 


\           \       \       \  \ 

O  O  o  O  O 

10  10  o  10  10 


I? 
5  M. 


L«f 

*la 


^    g 
-   2 


122  SPEECH    MELODY 

Prof.  Scripture  in  describing  the  speech  melody  repre- 
sented in  Fig.  55  says  : 

"  We  note  that  in  the  first  phrase  the  melody  rises  somewhat  sud- 
denly at  the  start  according  to  the  typical  convex  form  of  the  American 
sentence.  Instead,  however,  of  completing  the  convexity  it  suddenly 
rises  at  the  end.  The  average  tone  is  rather  low.  .  .  .  The  evenness 
of  the  melody  gives  it  solemnity,  the  steady  rise  through  the  phrase  gives 
it  pomposity,  the  sudden  rise  at  the  end  makes  it  somewhat  brusque 
and  challenging.  .  .  . 

"  In  the  fifth  phrase  the  melody  is  of  a  different  kind.  There  is  more 
flexibility  and  the  convexity  is  completed  by  a  low  fall.  In  the  sixth 
phrase  there  are  four  strong  subordinate  convexities  for  the  four  em- 
phatic units,  '  married,1  'old,'  '  fashioned,1  k  way.'  These  are  fused  to  a 
phrase  with  very  flexible  melody.  The  phrase  ends  with  a  fall  in 
melody  and  a  pause,  although  it  needs  the  words  <  without  regard  to 
race  or  creed '  to  complete  it.  These  last  two  phrases  are  in  contrast  to 
the  first  four.  The  evenness  is  replaced  by  great  flexibility,  the  rise  at 
the  end  is  replaced  by  an  exaggerated  fall. 

"  The  entire  effect  of  such  a  melody  is  distinctly  humorous  —  an  ef- 
fect that  is  increased  by  the  very  low  tones  employed,  especially  at  the 
end  (going  as  low  as  nearly  50  vibrations  a  second).  It  is  a  common 
device  of  humor  to  imitate  solemnity  in  its  chief  traits  and  to  change  one 
of  them  into  an  inconsistency.  Here  the  effect  is  that  of  a  staid  humor 
of  a  mild  degree.  .  .  .  Throughout  the  record  the  melody  is  one  that 
is  appropriate  to  the  ceremonial  oration,  with  a  constant  humorous  twist 
to  it.  The  unusually  long  pauses  between  the  phrases,  with  the  low 
and  monotonous  pitch,  aid  in  the  ceremonious  expression." 


LESSON    XXXI 
FAULTS  IN  SPEECH  MELODY 

As  the  skillful  opera  singer  excels  the  unpracticed 
vocalist  in  his  execution  of  melody,  so  the  person  that  has 
had  training  in  speech  melody  will  excel  the  one  who  has 
not,  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  student  a  few  of  the  common 
faults  in  speech  melody  are  set  down  below. 

Before  giving  these,  however,  it  may  be  well  to  state 
the  general  truth,  that  every  speech  note  is  a  slide,  that  it 
passes  from  one  degree  of  pitch  to  another  without  being 
held  appreciably  at  any  fioint.  This  does  not  at  all  conflict 
with  what  has  been  said  about  steps,  for,  in  taking  steps, 
the  voice  simply  stops  one  note  (which  is  a  slide,  of 
course)  and  starts  in  at  a  new  place  to  make  another  note 
(which  is  also  a  slide).  The  slides  mentioned  in  previous 
lessons  are  merely  the  important  slides,  and  it  must  be 
understood  that  every  speech  note  is  in  reality  a  slide. 

Do  not  confuse  song  notes  and  speech  notes.  —  With  the 
foregoing  truth  in  mind,  the  student  is  now  cautioned 
against  the  use  of  song  notes  in  speech.  In  a  large  room, 
or  sometimes  in  a  small  one,  there  is  a  tendency  to  pro- 
long a  word  or  syllable  on  one  plane  of  pitch,  giving  a 
sort  of  calling  effect.  This  turns  the  speech  note  into  a 
song  note,  for  this  is  just  the  difference  between  song  and 
speech  :  Song  stays  on  one  degree  of  pitch,  on  one  note, 
while  speech  must  be  going  either  up  or  down,  and  does  not 
stay  in  one  place.  The  best  way  to  avoid  song  notes  in 
speech  is  to  talk  to  one  of  the  front  seats  just  as  you 
would  talk  to  a  friend  ;  then,  keeping  the  same  slides,  talk 

123 


124  FAULTS   IN    SPEECH    MELODY 

to  the  back  seats.  "Tell  it  to  the  audience."  Don't  say 
words,  but  TELL  them  what  you  have  to  say ;  GET  THE 
THOUGHT  to  them. 

Do  not  use  too  narrow  a  range  of  melody.  —  One  of  the 
most  common  faults  among  young  speakers,  and  yet  one 
which  can  be  easily  remedied,  is  that  of  using  too  narrow 
a  range  of  melody.  Some  students  rarely  use  over  three 
or  four  notes.  Enlarge  the  range  of  melody.  Remember 
that  a  speech  to  a  thousand  people  is  a  speech  to  a  few, 
greatly  magnified.  Just  as  you  write  a  small  hand  on  a 
sheet  of  writing  paper,  but  write  a  large  hand  on  the 
blackboard,  so  you  can  use  a  small  range  in  talking  to  a 
small  audience,  but  you  must  use  a  wide  range  in  talking 
to  a  large  audience.  Go  high  and  low  in  placing  your 
words.  Place  your  emphatic  words  higher  up  and  make 
your  slides  longer. 

Do  not  use  the  semitone,  except  for  sadness,  pity,  etc.  - 
Every  student  knows  that  on  the  piano,  and  in  singing,  we 
have  whole  tones,  or  steps,  and  half  tones.  For  instance, 
it  is  a  full  step  from  c  to  d,  and  only  a  half  step  from  c  to 
c-sJiarp.  These  same  half  tones  exist  in  speech.  Their 
use,  however,  should  be  confined  to  things  pathetic,  sad, 
plaintive,  etc.  They  are  used  in  complaining,  crying,  etc., 
but  should  not  be  introduced  in  ordinary  speech.  Often, 
however,  especially  in  the  lower  grades  of  the  high  school, 
whole  passages,  even  of  the  most  positive  utterance,  will 
be  given  with  this  semitone.  The  student  can  easily  get 
the  semitone  by  giving  the  sentence,  "  Are  you  sick,  poor 
fellow?"  with  a  voice  full  of  pity.  On  the  word  sick  will 
occur  a  good  example  of  the  semitone.  Now  give  the 
same  sentence  without  any  feeling  at  all.  At  once  the 
difference  will  be  apparent.  The  way  to  avoid  the  semi- 
tone is  to  be  more  positive,  to  come~clear  down  on  yoiir 
slides,  to  settle  the  thing. 


FAULTS   IN    SPEECH   MELODY 


125 


Do  not  drop  the  last  note,  or  the  last  few  notes,  too  ab- 
ruptly at  the  end  of  the  sentence.  —  This  is  quite  a  common 
fault,  especially  with  those  who  have  a  tendency  to  spas- 
modic emphasis.  For  instance,  in  the  sentence  "  I  will  not 
speak  to  him,"  the  last  two  words  might  be  dropped  so 
suddenly  that  the  audience  would  be  unable  to  catch  them. 
A  few  sentences  to  illustrate  this  fault  are  given  below. 

This  explained  all.  The  Emperor  had  demonstrated  his  right  to  be 
called  the  Royal  Bowman  of  the  world. 


A  better  melody  would  be 


Do  not  jrun  out  of  the  compass  of  your  voice.  — When  a 
long  word  comes  at  the  end  of  a  sentence  there  is  often 
a  tendency  not  to  start  high  enough,  thus  throwing  the 
last  syllable  too  low  for  a  good  tone,  so  that  instead  of 
being  a  tone  at  all,  it  is  a  mere  whisper.  If  the  dotted  line 
given  below  were  to  represent  the  lower  limit  of  your  com- 
pass, you  can  at  once  see  that  it  would  be  very  easy  to 
throw  the  last  syllable  of  artistically  out  of  pitch. 

She  sang  very  artistically. 


126  FAULTS    IN   SPEECH   MELODY 

The  remedy  would  lie  in  starting  the  word  higher,  as, 


Do  not  allow  the  voice  to  rise  at  the  end  of  the  downward 
slide  at  the  close  of  a  sentence.  —  This  fault  results  very 
often  from  the  preceding  one.  Finding  that  the  last  word 
is  started  too  low  for  a  good  note,  the  speaker  puts  the 
last  part  of  it,  or  sometimes  the  whole  last  note,  higher, 
thus  sacrificing  meaning  for  the  sake  of  tone.  Avoid  this. 
Examples  are  given  below. 

There  are  many  reasons  which  make  a  good  and  thorough  battle 
necessary.  The  Southern  men  are  infatuated.  They  will  not  have 
peace. 


Better  would  be : 


Do  not  give  a  falling  slide  where  the  thought  is  not  com- 
plete.—  This  is  really  not  an  elocutionary  fault,  but  a 
logical  one.  The  student  more  'often  does  not  see  the 
meaning  than  sees  the  meaning  and  does  not  give  the  cor- 


FAULTS    IN    SPEECH   MELODY 


127 


rect  inflection.  To  correct  this  fault,  it  is  generally  suf- 
ficient to -show  that  the  thought  is  not  complete  at  this 
particular  place,  but  that  at  some  point  farther  on  it  is  com- 
plete. The  fault  is  most  prevalent  in  the  case  of  poetry 
where  the  thought  is  not  complete  at  the  end  of  a  line. 
Example : 

Even  as  he  spake,  his  frame,  renewed 
In  eloquence  of  attitude, 
Rose,  as  it  seemed,  a  shoulder  higher ; 
Then  swept  his  kindling  glance  of  fire 
From  startled  pew  to  breathless  choir ; 
When  suddenly  his  mantle  wide 
His  hands  impatient  flung  aside. 


WRONG 


RIGHT 


128 


FAULTS    IN    SPEECH    MELODY 


EXERCISES 

69.  Give  the  following,  beginning  on  high  pitch  and  gradually  mov- 
ing downward. 

(a)    Ah,  me !     Ah,  me !     Those  days !     Those  days ! 
(£)    How  the  signboard  creaks  all  day  long. 
(c)    All  gloom,  all  silence,  all  despair. 

—  FULTON  and  TRUEBLOOD. 

70.  Give  the  following  with  continually  falling  melody: 

The  eye  of  Heaven  penetrates  the  darkest  chambers  of  the  soul. 
How  dare  you  tread  upon  the  earth  which  has  drunk  in  the  blood  of 
slaughtered  innocents  ? 

71.  Extend  the  hands,  with  the  palms  down,  on  the  right,  obliquely 


FlG.  56.  Nearing  the  stroke  in  Ex.  69.  FIG.  57.  After  the  stroke  in  Ex.  69. 

toward  the  ceiling,  standing  with  the  right  foot  forward  and  the  left 
heel  raised  slightly  from  the  floor.  Now,  swaying  the  hands  down  in 
a  curved  line,  elevate  them  to  a  corresponding  position  on  the  left, 
striking  at  the  end  of  the  movement,  and  bringing  the  left  foot  forward 
as  you  sway  your  hands  across.  Sway  them_J}ack  to  the  right  again, 
ending  with  a  stroke.  Repeat  eight  times.  See  Figures  56  and  57. 


FAULTS    IN    SPEECH    MELODY 


L()l^ 


129 


72.  With  the  right  hand  describe  a  horizontal  figure  eight  in  front 
of  the  body,  letting  the  wrist  lead  both  going  and  coming.  Repeat 
eight  times.  T)o  the  same  with  the  left  hand.  Repeat  with  both 
hands,  first  letting  one  go  above,  then  the  other. 


PUB.  SPEAK.  —  9 


LESSON    XXXII 
SOURCES   OF   POWER  IN   SPEECH   MELODY 

A  PLEASING  melody  will  probably  do  as  much  toward 
attracting  and  holding  an  audience  as  any  accomplishment 
the  orator  can  have.  Below  are  given  a  few  sources  of 
power  in  its  use. 

Use  the  monotone  for  grandeur,  sublimity,  solemnity, 
and  kindred  emotions. — Where  the  different  speech  notes 
axe  given  along  on  one  line  of  pitch,  although  some  may  be 
rising  slides  and  some  falling,  the  melody  is  said  to  be  the 
Melody  of  Monotone.  This  kind  of  melody  will  be  found 
very  effective  for  the  emotions  of  solemnity,  grandeur,  de- 
votion, sublimity,  awe,  dread,  terror,  etc.  Examples : 

O  Thou  Eternal  One,  whose  presence  bright 
All  space  doth  occupy,  all  motion  guide,  etc. 


Use  the  semitone  for  sadness,  pity,  etc.  —  This  direc- 
tion will  need  no  explanation.  Read  the  caution  against 
the  use  of  the  semitone  in  the  preceding  lesson.  Do  not 
overdo  the  matter;  this  is  a  powerful  agent,  and  should 
not  be  abused.  Example  : 

Alas !     Alas !     I  know  not ;  friend  and  foe  fall  together. 

NOTE.  —  There  is  no  good  way  of  indicating  the  semitone.  It  is 
necessary  to  secure  a  good  example,  such  as  that  given  in  the  preceding 
lesson,  and  then  apply  the  effect  to  all  cases  where  its  use  would  be 
proper. 

130 


SOURCES   OF   POWER   IN    SPEECH    MELODY         131 

Use  more  than  ordinary  slides  and  steps  for  surprise, 
delight,  defiance,  etc.  —  A  slide  of  five,  notes,  or  even 
more,  can  be  used  for  the  emotions  just  named.  In  cases 
of  extreme  surprise,  intense  fear,  impassioned  exclamation 
and  interrogation,  a  slide  or  step  of  a  whole  octave  may  be 
used.  Example : 

L.  Capulet.    Alack  the  day  I  she's  dead,  she's  dead,  she's  dead! 
Cap.  Ha!     Let  me  see  her. 


Othello.          Avaunt!     Be  gone!     Thou  hast  set  me  on  the  rack. 


EXERCISES 

73.  Combine  the  following  consonants  with  the  vowel  sounds  given 
in  Ex.  13  :  bl,  br,  pi,  pr,  dr,  dw,  tr,  th,  tw,  fl,  fr,  gl,  gr,  kr,  kl,  sin,  sn, 
sp,  squ,  sk,  sh,  st,  siv,  ch,  wh.     Use  both  song  notes  and  speech  notes. 
Use  both  rising  and  falling  slides,  and  waves. 

74.  Give  the  following  words  with  strong  articulation : 

black,  brink,  plan,  pray, 
drench,  dwell,  train,  there, 
tweak,  flow,  fry,  glare, 
gray,  cloud,  small,  snare, 
spare,  squeak,  scoot,  shun, 
stay,  swell,  church,  where. 


132       SOURCES   OF    POWER    IN    SPEECH    MELODY 

75.  Repeat  the  following  sentences  using  the  monotone  or  semitone 
as  the  case  demands. 

Holy,  holy,  holy!  Lord  God  Almighty! 

Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul ;  and  all  that  is  within  me,  bless  his  holy 
name ! 

Thy  sad,  sweet  hymn,  at  eve,  the  seas  along,  — 
Oh,  the  deep  soul  it  breathed! 
Must  I  then  leave  you?     Must  I  needs  forego 
So  good,  so  noble,  and  so  true  a  master? 

76.  Give  the  following  sentences,  using  more  than  ordinary  slides  of 
the  voice. 

Be  gone !  Run  to  your  houses ! 

Is  it  come  to  this  ? 

Hath  a  dog  money? 

Did  they  not  rally  to  battle,  as  men  flock  to  a  feast? 

You  look  pale,  and  gaze! 

Ye  gods,  it  doth  amaze  me! 


LESSON    XXXIII 


GESTURE.     THE   DRAMATIC   HANDS 

THOUGH  not  used  so  much  in  oratory  as  in  dramatic  work, 
what  are  known  as  the  clasped,  averse,  and  reflex  hands 
are  important  to  every  student  of  public  speech. 

CLASPED 

The  position  with  clasped  hands  needs  no  description. 
It  is  but  necessary  to  say  that  the  fingers  may  be  inter- 


FlG.  58.     The   hands 
clasped  and  extended. 


FlG.  59.  The  hands  clasped 
and  brought  to  chest. 


locked,  or  not,  as  the  taste  dictates.  Usually,  however,  the 
position  is  stronger  and  more  earnest  when  the  fingers  are 
interlocked.  The  conventional  position  of  having  the 
hands  vertical  and  the  tips  of  the  fingers  and  the  thumbs 
together  may  sometimes  be  used.  See  Figs.  59,  60,  61, 
and  62. 


134 


GESTURE.  THE  DRAMATIC  HANDS 


FlG.  60.    The    hands 
clasped    and  fingers 
interlocked. 
The     character     "  John 
Storm  "in  The  Christian. 


The  clasped  hand  is  used  for 
prayer,  supplication,  entreaty,  adoration, 
etc.  The  hands  are  wrung  in  anguish, 
and  remorse.  Examples : 

Portia.  And  upon  my  knees, 

I  charge  you,  by  my  once  commended  beauty, 
By  all  your  vows  of  love,  and  that  great  vow 
Which  did  incorporate  us  and  make  us  one, 
That  you  unfold  to  me,  yourself,  your  half, 
Why  you  are  heavy,  and  what  men  to-night 
Have  had  resort  to  you  ;  for  here  have  been 
Some  six  or  seven,  who  did  hide  their  faces 
Even  from  Darkness.  —  SHAKESPEARE. 

Juliet.     Ah  me!  what  news  ?  why  dost  thou 

wring  thy  hands? 
Nurse.     Ah,   well-a-day  !     He's   dead,   he's 

dead,  he's  dead  ! 

We  are  undone,  lady,  we  are  undone ! 
Alack   the   day  !     He's  gone,  he's 
killed,  he's  dead  ! 

—  SHAKESPEARE. 


Eliza  recognized  the  face  and  voice  of  a  man 
who  owned  a  farm  not  far  from  her  old  home. 
"  Oh,  Mr.  Symmes  !  —  save  me,  —  do  save 
me,  —  do  hide  me!  "  said  Eliza. 

—  MRS.  STOWE. 

AVERSE 


It  is  human  nature  to  thrust  away 
those  things  that  are  unpleasant 
and  ugly.  The  hand  used  for  this  is 
called  the  averse  hand.  The  palm 
is  extended  toward  the  object  of  dis- 
pleasure and  the  hand  makes  as  if  to-— 

k  9  t 

thrust  it  away.     This  hand  is  very 


.  61.     The  conventional 

form  of  clasped  hands. 


GESTURE..    THE    DRAMATIC    HANDS 


135 


similar  to  the  ordinary  hand  with  the  palm  down ;  in  fact, 
if  the  angle  between  the  forearm  and  the  hand  is  increased, 
and  the  fingers  somewhat  spread,  the  position  is  a  very 
good  averse. 

With  the  thrusting  away  motion  of  the  hand  goes  a 
turning  of  the  head  away.  At  the  beginning  of  an  averse 
gesture  you  look  at  the  object  and  your  hand  comes  up  in 


FlG.  62.     The  beginning  of 
the  averse  gesture. 


FIG.  63.     The    end   of   the 
averse  gesture. 


front  of  your  chest ;  then  when  the  thrust  is  made,  the  head 
is  turned  away. 

The  averse  hand  is  used  in  denial,  aversion,  repul- 
sion, and  loathing.  If  the  angle  between  the  hand  and  the 
forearm  is  only  slight,  it  stands  for  admonition  or  reproof. 
If  the  fingers  are  spread,  it  signifies  amazement,  intense 
fear,  terror,  horror,  etc.  Examples  : 
Othello.  A  vaunt!  Be  gone!  Thou  hast  set  me  on  the  rack! 

I  swear  'tis  better  to  be  much  abused 

Than  but  to  know't  a  little. 

O  Horror!     Tis  he! 

Give  appropriate  gestures  for  the  following : 

Avaunt!  and  quit  my  sight!     Let  the  earth  hide  theet 
Go,  go,  thou  selfish  and  ungrateful  child. 


136 


GESTURE.     THE    DRAMATIC    HANDS 


Gitche  Manitou,  the  Mighty! 
Give  thy  children  food,  O  Father  ! 
Give  us  food,  or  we  must  perish! 
Give  us  food  for  Minnehaha, 
For  my  dying  Minnehaha! 


REFLEX  HAND 

Also  belonging  more  especially  to  dramatic  work  than 
to    oratory   is   the  reflex  hand.     This  is  simply  the  ordi- 


FlG.  64.     The  reflex  hand 
brought  to  the  head. 


FIG.  65.     The    reflex    hand 
brought  to  the  chest. 


nary  hand  with  the  palm  up,  brought  back  to  and  touch- 
ing self.  It  may  return  to  any  part  of  the  body,  and  its 
significance  differs  with  the  part  of  the  body  to  which  it 
returns. 

For  the  purpose  of  explaining  this  gesture,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  head  represents  man's  mental  nature,  and  that 
the  chest  represents  his  emotional  nature.  The  chest  is 
further  divided  into  the  tipper  and  lower  chest. 

The  upper  chest  is  the  seat  of  honor,  conscience,  self- 
respect,  patriotism,  etc. 

The  lower  chest  is  the  seat  of  \hz,- affections  and  deeper 
emotions. 


GESTURE.     THE   DRAMATIC    HANDS 


137 


FIG.  66.    The  reflex  hand 
with  crooked  fingers. 


With  these  statements  in  mind,  we  can  see  that  the 
hand  reflex  to  the  head  would  denote  concentration  or  reflec- 
tion (see  Fig.  64),  and  that  when 
brought  to  the  chest  it  would  have 
different  meanings  according  to  the 
zone  to  which  it  was  brought. 

In  case  of  pain,  the  reflex  hand 
may  seek  almost  any  part  of  the 
body.  When  the  fingers  are  bent, 
and  the  thumb  crooked,  it  may  de- 
note agony,  convulsion,  despair,  etc. 
(See  Fig.  66.)  Examples  : 

Mercutio.  I  am  hurt : 

A  plague  o'  both  your  houses!     I  am  sped. 
Is  he  gone,  and  hath  nothing?  —  SHAKESPEARE. 
lago.  He  holds  me  well ; 

The  better  shall  my  purpose  work  on  him. 
Cassio's  a  proper  man  :  let  me  see  now  ; 
To  get  his  place,  and  to  plume  up  my  will 
In  double  knavery — 'How,  how?     Lefs  see. 

—  SHAKESPEARE. 

Juliet.     O,  break,  my  heart !  poor  bankrupt,  break  at  once  ! 

—  SHAKESPEARE. 

EXERCISES 

77.  To  a  count  of  i,  2,  3,  execute  the  averse  hand  to  the  right  five 
times  and  to  the  left  five  times.     Be  sure  to  strike  on  3,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  turn  the  head  away.     Try  the  same  obliquely  upward  and 
obliquely  downward,  both  on  the  right  and  left. 

78.  Execute  Ex.  77  with  both  hands. 

79.  Execute  Ex.  78  with  the  clasped  hands,  also  using  the  clasped 
hands  in  front  upward,  and  in  front   downward.     On  the   downward 
positions  of  the  clasped  hands  you  may  still  look  upward. 

80.  Review  the  Open  Hand,  with  palm  both  up  and  down,  the  Index, 
and  the  Clenched  Hand,  using  each  in  all  planes. 

81.  Review   the  Reflex,   Averse,   and  Clasped  hands,  using  in   all 
planes. 


138 


GESTURE.     THE   DRAMATIC   HANDS 


82.  Review  all  the  positions. 

83.  The  following  exercise  from  Fulton  and  TruebloocTs  Practical 
Elocution  will  be  found  very  helpful  in  developing  graceful  action  and 
poise.     Practice  it  often  before  the  mirror,  as  gracefully  as  you  can. 


FIG.    67.    The  beginning   of 
Ex.  83. 


FIG.  68.    The  end  of  Ex.  83. 


"  Let  the  hands  meet  a  few  inches  in  front  of  the  left  hip,  gently  grasp 
with  each  thumb  and  finger  an  imaginary  silken  fiber ;  then  keeping 
the  hands  turned  toward  each  other  throughout  the  movement,  gradually 
separate  the  arms,  the  left  moving  downward  and  backward,  the  right 
upward  and%forward,  spinning  out  the  thread.  Open  the  hands  at  the 
end  of  the  movement.  During  this  movement  step  forward  with  the 
right  foot,  balancing  the  body  with  the  left.  Stepping  with  the  left 
foot,  practice  with  the  hands  on  the  other  side  in  a  similar  manner. 
Repeat  alternately  twice."  (See  Figs.  67  and  68.) 


LESSON    XXXIV 


QUANTITY 

IT  is  easy  to  see  that  the  word  kick  does  not  occupy  so 
much  time  in  speaking  as  the  word  gloom,  yet  the  speaker 
often  does  not  make  use  of  this  fact.  All  the  words  of  his 
speech  are  uttered  with  about  the  same  length,  so  that 
differences  which  could  be  made  very  effective  are  entirely 
neglected. 

This  division  of  Public  Speaking  which  deals  with  the 
length  of  vocal  sounds  and  syllables  is  called  quantity. 
Quantity  is  based  primarily  upon  the  actual  time  that  it 


SHORT  SOUNDS 

LONG  SOUNDS 

Vowels 

Consonants 

Vowels 

Consonants 

a  in  at 

b  in  bob 

a  in  all 

/  in  lull 

a  in  ask 

d  in  did 

a  in  arm 

m  in  me 

e  in  met 
i  in  // 
o  in  son 

g  \KJUg 

fin  fife 
h  in  hat 

a  in  ale 
a  in  air 

e  in  eve 

n  in  nun 
r  in  roe 
v  in  vie 

u  in  put 

j  in  jig 
k  in  kick 
p  in  pop 
s  in  sat 

e  in  err 
i  in  isle 
o  in  old 
oo  in  ooze 

w  in  woe 
y  in  yet 
z  in  zone 
th  in  then 

t  in  tat 
ch  in  chat 

u  in  use 
oi  in  oil 

ng  in  sing 
zh  in  azure 

th  in  thin 

ou  in  our 

sh  in  shun 

ivh  in  when 

139 


140  QUANTITY 

takes  to  utter  the  different  sounds  of  the  alphabet.  Some 
are  long  and  some  are  short.  Short  sounds  cannot  be  pro- 
longed without  becoming  displeasing  to  the  ear.  Long 
sounds  can  be  prolonged  and  yet  not  become  displeasing. 
With  this  knowledge  of  the  sounds  themselves,  we  may 
now  understand  how  we  have  syllables  which  are  made  up 
entirely  of  short  sounds,  called  short  syllables,  syllables 
made  up  of  part  short  and  part  long  sounds,  called  medium 
syllables,  and  syllables  made  up  wholly  of  long  sounds, 
called  long  syllables. 

Examples  of  short  syllables  are : 

kick,  tat,  pat,  tack,  dot,  etc. 

Examples  of  medium  syllables  are : 
come,  pull,  rap,  met,  etc. 

Examples  of  long  syllables  are : 

eve,  arm,  rove,  gloom,  etc. 

In  general,  long  syllables  predominate  in  sublimity, 
sorrow,  awe,  reverence,  adoration,  calling,  commanding,  etc.; 
medium  syllables  in  narration,  description,  bold  and  lofty 
thought,  patriotism,  courage,  etc.  ;  and  short  syllables  in 
joy,  mirth,  laughter,  exciting  appeal,  fright,  anger,  con- 
tempt, etc. 

These  facts  should  be  taken  into  account  by  every  high 
school  student  in  writing  an  oration  or  other  literary  com- 
position. These  different  kinds  of  syllables  will  heighten 
the  effect  desired.  If  you  wish  a  paragraph  full  of  gloom, 
go  back  through  your  work  and  see  if  you  cannot  substitute, 
for  some  of  the  words  that  you  have,  other  words  that  will 
convey  your  meaning  just  as  well,  or  better,  and  that  have 
more  long  syllables  in  them.  Likewise,  in  joy,  see  if  you 
cannot  use  a  greater  number  of  short  syllables. 


QUANTITY  141 

Probably  the  greatest  example  of  the  effect  of  long  and 
short  syllables  is  found  in  Milton's  U Allegro  and  // 

Penseroso. 

Haste  thee,  Nymph,  and  bring  with  thee 
Jest,  and  youthful  Jollity, 
Quips  and  Cranks  and  wanton  Wiles, 
Nods  and  Becks  and  wreathed  Smiles, 
Such  as  hang  on  Hebe's  cheek, 
And  love  to  live  in  dimple  sleek ; 
Sport  that  wrinkled  Care  derides, 
And  Laughter  holding  both  his  sides. 
Come,  and  trip  it  as  you  go, 
On  the  light  fantastic  toe. 

Come,  Pensive  Nun,  devout  and  pure, 
Sober,  steadfast,  and  demure, 
All  in  a  robe  of  darkest  grain, 
Flowing  withfmajestic  train, 
And  sable  stole  of  cypress  lawn 
Over  thy  decent  shoulders  drawn. 
Come,  but  keep  thy  wonted  state, 
With  even  step,  and  musing  gait, 
And  looks  commercing  with  the  skies, 
Thy  rapt  soul  sitting  in  thine  eyes. 

But  even  if  it  is  impossible  to  attend  to  all  this  in  writing, 
much  may  be  accomplished  by  delivery.  If  the  long  syl- 
lables are  neglected,  the  effect  will  not  be  so  much  in  accord 
with  the  sentiment  expressed  by  those  syllables,  while  the 
ordinary  effect  of  such  a  passage  may  be  heightened  by 
an  unusual  dwelling  on  them. 

The  same  holds  true  of  the  short  syllables.  If  they  are 
struck  off  quickly,  they  have  their  correct  effect  but  they 
must  not  be  prolonged. 

CAUTION.  —  The  prolonging  of  short  syllables  is  what 
is  generally  known  as  drawling.  Pick  out  the  short  syl- 
lables, stop  prolonging  them,  and  the  drawl  will  disappear. 

NOTE.  —  If  attention  is  paid  to  prolonging  the  indefinite  syllables, 
the  passage  is  said  to  be  delivered  in  long  quantity ;  if  the  short 


142  QUANTITY 

syllables  are  given  the  attention,  that  is,  are  given  quickly,  and  the  in- 
definite syllables  are  slighted,  the  passage  is  said  to  be  given  in  short 
quantity.  If  neither  of  these  methods  is  followed,  the  passage  is 
probably  given  in  medium  quantity. 

EXERCISES 

82.  Extend  the  arms  parallel  in  front,  palms  down.     Depress  the 
wrists.     Revolve  the  hands  until  the  tips  of  the  fingers  point  down. 
Now  bring  the  hand   back  to  the  shoulder  by   bending  the   elbow. 
Raise  the  elbows  and  revolve  the   hands  so  the  palms  are  outward. 
Now  push  out  with  the  hands.     At  first  do  this  to  a  count  of  I,  2,  3,  4, 
5,  6,  rather  jerkily.     Soon,  however,  smooth  it  down  until  your  counts 
run  together  and  there  is  nothing  left  but  a  smooth  serpentine  motion. 

83.  Repeat  Ex.  82,  but  extend  the  arms  out  at  the  sides. 

84.  Practice  the  following  sentences  in  their  appropriate  quantities  : 

1 .  Move  on,  thou  arm  of  law. 

2.  Pick  it  up  quick,  Jack.. 

3.  Let  them  try  him. 

4.  And  he  rolls,  rolls,  rolls,  rolls  a  paean  from  the  bells. —  POE. 

5.  How  they  tinkle,  tinkle,  tinkle  in  the  icy  air  of  night.  —  POE. 

—  From  FULTON  and  TRUEBLOOD'S  Practical  Elocution. 


LESSON    XXXV 
TONE   COLOR 

MORE  subtle  and  delicate,  and  yet  perhaps  more  effective, 
than  any  of  the  means  of  expression  yet  described,  is  what 
is  known  as  tone  color.  By  this  is  meant  the  quality  of 
voice  taken  on  in  the  manifestation  of  any  particular  mood. 
Of  course,  as  the  possibilities  of  our  moods,  with  their 
various  blendings,  are  practically  infinite,  so  there  are 
infinite  possibilities  in  tone  color,  for  there  is  a  voice  for 
every  emotion  ;  but  a  few  of  the  more  common  of  our 
moods  give  rise  to  certain  quite  plainly  distinguished  qual- 
ities, and  it  is  to  every  orator's  advantage  to  learn  their 
control  and  use.  For  convenience  we  may  classify  these 
into  a  few  large  groups. 

GROUP    I 
ORDINARY,  EVERYDAY,  CONVERSATIONAL  QUALITIES 

The  first  large  group  of  qualities  is  that  which  we  use  in 
our  everyday  life,  —  the  kind  we  use  when  we  are  explain- 
ing something  to  a  friend,  or  reciting  a  lesson,  or  telling  of 
some  ordinary  incident  that  does  not  excite  its  greatly. 
Examples  : 

A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever ; 

Its  loveliness  increases  ;  it  will  never 

Pass  into  nothingness  ;  but  still  will  keep 

A  bower  quiet  for  us,  and  a  sleep 

Full  of  sweet  dreams,  and  health,  and  quiet  breathing. 

—  KEATS. 
H3 


144  TONE    COLOR 

I  am  little  accustomed,  Gentlemen,  to  the  part  which  I  am  now 
attempting  to  perform.  Hardly  more  than  once  or  twice  has  it  hap- 
pened to  me  to  be  concerned  on  the  side  of  the  government  in  any 
criminal  prosecution  whatever;  and  never,  until  the  present  occasion, 
in  any  case  affecting  life.  —  WEBSTER  in  White  Murder  Trial. 

The  reign  of  Napoleon  may  be  defined  as  the  old  world  reconstructed 
by  a  new  man.  He  covered  over  with  glory  the  threadbare  centuries. 
He  was  the  first  among  soldiers,  but  not  among  statesmen.  He  was 
open  to  the  past,  but  blind  to  the  future.  If  this  judgment  be  found  too 
harsh,  a  mere  glance  will  serve  to  convince  one  of  its  justice.  Men  are 
judged  not  by  their  fortune,  but  by  their  work.  He  had  in  his  hand 
the  greatest  force  Providence  ever  placed  in  the  hand  of  a  mortal  to 
create  a  civilization  or  a  nationality.  What  has  he  left?  Nothing  but 
a  conquered  country  and  an  immortal  name.  —  LAMARTINE. 

GROUP   II 
EXTRA  LARGE,  STRONG,  FULL,  RICH  QUALITIES 

A  second  well-defined  group  of  qualities  is  that  which 
we  use  when  our  natures  expand  to  their  fullest  and  best. 
These  are  larger,  stronger,  fuller,  richer  qualities  than 
those  we  use  in  our  ordinary  existence,  —  they  come  only 
in  the  great  moments  of  life,  when  one's  being  is  fully 
roused.  They  are  used  in  reverence,  patriotism,  courage, 
etc.  The  best  way  to  cultivate  these  qualities,  which  are 
among  the  most  important  to  the  orator,  is  to  take  senti- 
ments of  a  grand,  lofty,  and  sublime  nature,  and  try  to  fill 
a  large  room  full  of  all  this  grandeur  and  sublimity,  or,  still 
in  a  large  room,  you  can  imagine  yourself  in  the  presence 
of  some  of  Nature's  grand  scenes,  and  try  to  speak  as  you 
would  if  you  were  to  express  this  grandeur  by  the  very 
way  you  said  your  words.  Examples  : 

Roll  on,  thou  deep  and  dark  blue  ocean,  roll.  —  BYRON. 

NOTE.  —  Imagine  yourself  on  a  great  high  cliff,  with  the  vast  ocean 
rolling  and  tossing  at  your  feet,  and  give  thisJine  so  that  you  will  sug- 
gest all  the  grandeur  of  the  sea.  Get  a  deep,  full  voice. 


TONE    COLOR  145 

NOTE.  —  Imagine  yourself  in  the  midst  of  battle,  speaking  the  follow- 
ing in  a  very  impassioned  manner  to  your  soldiers : 

On,  on,  you  noble  English, 
Whose  blood  is  fet  from  fathers  of  war-proof. 
Fathers,  that,  like  so  many  Alexanders,  . 
Have,  in  these  parts,  from  morn  till  even  fought, 
And  sheathed  their  swords  for  lack  of  argument. 
Dishonor  not  your  mothers  :  now  attest, 
That  those  whom  you  called  fathers  did  beget  you : 
Be  copy  now  to  men  of  grosser  blood, 
And  teach  them  how  to  war :  — and  you  good  yeomen, 
Whose  limbs  were  made  in  England,  show  us  here 
The  mettle  of  your  pasture  ;  let  us  swear 
That  you  are  worth  youf  breeding,  which  I  doubt  not, 
For  there  is  none  of  you  so  mean  or  base, 
That  hath  not  noble  luster  in  your  eyes. 
I  see  you  stand  like  greyhounds  in  the  slips, 
Straining  upon  the  start.     The  garnet  afoot  ; 
Follow  your  spirit ;  and,  upon  this  charge, 
Cry —  God  for  Harry  !  England  !  and  Saint  George  ! 

—  SHAKESPEARE'S  King  Henry  V. 

Reunited — glorious  realization!  It  expresses  the  thought  of  my 
mind  and  the  long-deferred  consummation  of  my  heart's  desire  as  I 
stand  in  this  presence.  It  interprets  the  hearty  demonstration  here 
witnessed,  and  is  the  patriotic  refrain  of  all  sections  and  all  lovers  of 
the  Republic. 

Reunited  —  one  country  again  and  one  country  forever  !  Proclaim 
it  from  the  press  and  the  pulpit ;  teach  it  in  the  schools  ;  write  it  across 
the  skies.  The  world  sees  it  and  feels  it.  It  cheers  every  heart  North 
and  South,  and.  brightens  the  life  of  every  American  home.  Let  noth- 
ing ever  strain  it  again.  At  peace  with  all  the  world  and  with  each 
other,  what  can  stand  in  the  pathway  of  our  progress  and  prosperity  ? 

—  WILLIAM  MCKINLEY. 


PUB.  SPEAK.  —  IO 


LESSON    XXXVI 
TONE  COLOR  —  Continued 

GROUP   III 
THE  THROATY,  RASPING  QUALITIES 

VERY  appropriate  to  the  harsh  and  disagreeable  senti- 
ments, such  as  revenge,  hate,  scorn,  contempt  and  the  like, 
are  the  throaty,  rasping  qualities  familiar  to  all  in  the  utter- 
ance of  a  very  angry  child.  One  very  good  way  to  get 
these  qualities  is  to  growl  very  much  as  a  dog,  and  then 
utter  words  with  the  same  roughness  and  throat  vibration. 
If  you  can  really  get  angry  upon  some  appropriate  words, 
it  will  help. 

CAUTION.  — Do  not  practice  this  quality  too  much.  It  is 
apt  to  rasp  the  throat,  and  should  be  reserved  for  passions 
of  the  highest  significance.  Examples. 

Othello  :   Peace,  you  were  best. 

Emilia :   Thou  hast  not  half  the  power  to  harm  me 

As  I  have  to  be  hurt.     O gull!  O  dolt ! 

As  ignorant  as  dirt !  thou  hast  done  a  deed,  etc. 
Othello :    O,  that  the  slave  had  forty  thousand  lives! 

One  is  too  poor,  too  weak  for  my  revenge  ! 
lago.        Yet  be  content. 
Othello:    O,  blood,  blood,  blood  I 

—  SHAKESPEARE. 

I  have  returned,  not  as  the  right  honorable  member  has  said,  to  raise 
another  storm,  —  I  have  returned  to  discharge  an  honorable  debt  of 
gratitude  to  my  country,  that  conferred  a  greai  reward  for  past  services, 
which,  I  am  proud  to  say,  was  not  greater  than  my  desert.  I  have  re- 


TONE   COLOR  147 

turned  to  protect  that  constitution,  of  which  I  was  the  parent  and 
founder,  from  the  assassination  of  such  men  as  the  honorable  gentleman 
and  his  unworthy  associates.  They  are  corrupt  —  they  mz  seditious — 
and  they,  at  this  very  moment,  are  in  a  conspiracy  against  their  country! 
I  have  returned  to  refute  a  libel,  as  false  as  it  is  malicious,  given  to  the 
public  under  the  appellation  of  a  report  of  the  committee  of  the  Lords. 
Here  I  stand  for  impeachment  or  trial!  I  dare  accusation!  I  defy  the 
honorable  gentleman!  I  defy  the  Government!  I  defy  their  whole 
phalanx!  —  let  them  come  forth!  I  tell  the  ministers  I  shall  neither 
give  them  quarter  nor  take  it !  —  GRATTAN  in  Reply  to  Mr.  Carry. 

Your  sires  were  soldiers  brave,  not  prowlers  base, 

Rogues,  miscreants,  felons^  village  ravagers! 

They  made  great  wars,  they  rode  like  heroes  forth, 

And,  worthy,  won  broad  lands  and  towers  and  towns, 

So  firmly  won  that  thirty  years  of  strife 

Made  of  their  followers  dukes,  their  leaders  kings! 

While  you !  like  jackal  and  bird  of  prey, 

Who  lurk  in  copses,  or  'mid  muddy  beds,  — 

Crouched  and  hushed,  with  dagger  ready  drawn, 

Hide  in  the  noisome  marsh  that  skirts  the  way, 

Trembling  lest  passing  hounds  snuff  out  your  lair! 

Listen  at  eventide  on  lonesome  path 

For  traveler's  footfall,  or  the  mule-bell's  chime, 

Pouncing  by  hundreds  on  one  helpless  man, 

To  cut  him  down,  then  back  to  your  retreats  — 

You  dare  to  vaunt  your  sires  ?     I  call  your  sires 

Bravest  of  brave  and  greatest  'mid  the  great, 

A  line  of  warriors!  you,  a  pack  of  thieves! 

—  VICTOR  HUGO. 

And,  Douglas,  more  I  tell  thee  here, 

Even  in  thy  pitch  of  pride, 
Here  in  thy  hold,  thy  vassals  near, 
(Nay,  never  look  upon  your  lord, 
And  lay  your  hands  upon  your  sword,) 

I  tell  thee,  thou'rt  defied. I 
And,  if  thou  said'st  I  am  not  peer 
To  any  lord  in  Scotland  here, 
Lowland  or  Highland,  far  or  near, 

Lord  Angus,  thou  hast  lied!  —  SCOTT. 


148  TONE   COLOR 

GROUP   IV 
THE  DEEP,  HOLLOW  QUALITIES 

Every  student  is  familiar  with  the  common  attempt  to 
scare  a  person  by  assuming  a  deep,  hollow,  fear-inspiring 
voice  such  as  it  is  imagined  ghosts  might  have.  This  is 
but  true  to  nature,  for  these  deep,  hollow  qualities  do  inspire 
terror,  awe,  and  the  like.  The  deepest  reverence  and 
sublimity  sometimes,  however,  are  also  appropriate  senti- 
ments for  this,  but  it  can  easily  be  seen  these  partake  of 
the  element  of  intense  fear,  —  such  as  oppresses  the  per- 
sonality. The  voice  really  comes  from  trying  to  expand 
the  chest  cavity  to  a  much  greater  degree  than  is  usually 
attained,  usually  in  an  attempt  to  personify  a  being  or 
comprehend  an  idea  of  larger  or  grander  proportions. 
Examples : 

From  Hamlet: 

Hamlet :   Whither  wilt  thou  lead  me?     Speak  ;  Til  go  no  further. 

Ghost:      Mark  me. 

Hamlet:   I  will. 

Ghost:      My  hour  is  almost  come, 

When  I  to  sulphurous  and  tormenting  flames 

Must  render  up  myself. 
Hamlet:    Alas,  poor  ghost. 
Ghost :      Pity  me  not.  —  /  atn  thy  fathers  spirit ; 

Doomed  for  a  certain  term  to  walk  the  night. 

Also,  from  Macbeth : 

Now  o^er  the  one  half  world 
Nature  seems  dead,  and  wicked  dreams  abuse 
The  curtained  sleep  ;  now  witchcraft  celebrates 
Pale  Hecate  "s  offerings*  and  withered  murder, 
Alarmed  by  his  sentinel,  the  wolf,     $ieq  l~fhb 
Whose  howl's  his  watch,  thus  with  staUly  pace, 
With  Tarqnins  ravishing  strides^-tewards  his  design 
Moves  like  a  ghost. 


LESSON    XXXVII 

GATHERING   UP   THE   ENDS 

IF  the  student  has  pursued  the  preceding  lessons  care- 
fully, he  will  doubtless  have  perceived  that  certain  lessons 
seem  more  or  less  related  to  others.  For  instance,  he  may 
have  noticed  that  where  certain  passages  have  low  pitch, 
they  also  have  slow  movement,  or  that  where  the  move- 
ment is  slow  the  pauses  are  longer,  etc.  This  interrelation 
of  the  elements  of  speech  is  found  throughout  all  study  of 
the  subject,  and  it  may  be  well  to  point  out  some  of  the 
more  marked  examples  of  it. 

Relation  between  method  of  applying  force,  and  stress.  — 
Especially  plain  is  the  relation  between  the  manner  of 
applying  force,  and  stress.  Where  the  force  is  applied 
smoothly  and  gently,  it  will  be  found  that  the  median  stress 
prevails.  Where  it  is  applied  explosively,  radical  stress 
will  prevail. 

Pitch  and  rate  of  utterance.  —  Fully  as  apparent  as  the 
preceding  relation  is  the  relation  between  the  pitch  of  the 
voice  and  its  rate  of  utterance.  If  the  pitch  of  the  voice 
is  high,  generally  the  rate  of  utterance  is  rapid.  If  the 
pitch  is  low,  a  slower  rate  is  used. 

Pause  and  rate  of  utterance.  —  It  is  readily  apparent 
that  as  the  rate  of  utterance  decreases,  the  pauses  increase 
in  length. 

Quantity  and  rate  of  utterance.  —  Just  as  evident  as  the 
relation  between  pause  and  rate,  is  the  relation  between 
quantity  and  rate.  The  longer  the  syllables  are  prolonged, 

149 


ISO  GATHERING   UP   THE   ENDS 

the  longer  are  the  pauses  prolonged,  —  this  very  clearly 
for  the  reason  that  proportion  must  be  maintained. 

Manner  of  applying  force,  and  rate.  —  When  force  is 
applied  smoothly  and  gently,  usually  the  rate  of  utterance 
is  made  slower,  because  it  takes  longer  to  start  a  note, 
swell  it,  and  then  let  it  die  away,  than  it  does  to  utter  it  as 
one  decisive  stroke. 

Degree  of  force  and  rate.  —  From  the  fact  that  it  takes 
some  time  to  bring  out  a  tone  to  its  full  carrying  value, 
when  a  person  is  using  a  great  deal  of  loudness  the  rate 
must  be  made  slower. 

Stress  and  inflection.  —  Very  apparent  among  the  inter- 
relations of  the  elements  of  speech  is  the  relation  between 
stress  and  inflection.  If  median  stress  be  used,  the  inflec- 
tion is  apt  to  be  wavelike  in  form,  first  rising  and  then  fall- 
ing. If  compound  stress  is  used,  usually  there  appears 
with  it  a  double  wave,  the  voice  first  rising  and  then  falling, 
only  to  rise  again  at  the  end  of  the  inflection. 

Melody  and  inflection.  —  Melody  and  inflection  are  closely 
related.  Usually  if  there  is  a  rising  melody,  there  are 
rising  inflections  predominating,  and  if  there  is  descend- 
ing melody,  there  are  falling  inflections  predominating.  In 
broken  melody  the  inflections  are  longer.  In  monotone 
the  inflection  is  apt  to  be  level. 

Quality  and  time.  —  Quality  and  time  are  very  closely 
connected.  Often  what  is  due  to  one  is  attributed  to  the 
other.  And  quality  often  depends  on  time,  for  if  a  note 
is  given  quickly  and  then  is  stopped  suddenly,  oftentimes 
there  is  not  time  enough  for  it  to  set  up  the  sympathetic 
overtones  upon  which  depend  the  qualities  of  the  voice. 
The  note  may  be  given  in  the  short,  quick,  decisive  quality, 
consisting  merely  of  the  fundamental,  —  curt,  short,  mere 
matter  of  fact ;  or  it  may  be  held  until  echoes  are  set  up 
in  the  remotest  chambers  of  the  vocal  apparatus,  —  almost 


GATHERING   UP   THE   ENDS  151 

in  the  "remotest  chambers  of  the  soul."  Man  is  a  machine 
acted  upon  by  outside  influences.  Upon  the  contemplation 
of  an  idea  the  vocal  apparatus  arranges  itself  and,  as  even 
in  the  nervous  system  there  is  a  slight  element  of  time  in- 
volved, the  more  steadfastly  an  idea  is  held  before  the 
mind,  the  more  perfectly  the  vocal  apparatus  responds. 
The  ideas  are  like  the  fingers  of  the  artist  upon  the  key- 
board of  the  piano,  and  just  as,  if  the  fingers  pause  but  a 
moment,  there  is  but  a  limited  response,  but  if  they  linger 
lovingly,  the  full  beauty  of  the  tone  is  brought  out,  so 
beauties  of  voice  are  dependent  upon  the  time  the  idea  is 
held  before  the  mind. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  interrelations.  All  the 
vocal  characteristics  will  be  found  to  have  counterparts  in 
the  realm  of  gesture.  Even  in  rendering  a  short  passage, 
the  student  will  be  surprised  at  the  number  of  inter- 
relations found.  It  is  interesting  to  take  some  selection 
and  to  note  accurately  how  many  of  the  principles  set  forth 
in  this  book  are  employed  in  its  rendition.  It  is  true  that 
many  of  them  will  be  applied  instinctively,  but  by  carefully 
noticing  them,  their  effect  may  be  increased  to  a  certain 
extent,  thus  making  the  selection  or  speech  more  attractive, 
for  it  must  always  be  remembered  that  a  speech,  like  a 
sentence  on  the  blackboard,  must  be  "  writ  large,"  and  the 
ordinary  characteristics  of  speech  are  better  perceived  by 
the  audience  if  they  are  magnified. 


LESSON    XXXVIII 
STYLES   OF   SPEAKING 

THERE  are  many  ways  of  preparing  a  speech. 

1.  It  may  be  written  out  and  read. 

2.  It  may  be  written  and  committed  to  memory. 

3.  It  may  be  spoken  from  carefully  prepared  notes. 

4.  It  may  be  spoken  entirely  extempore. 

5.  It  may  be  given  with  a  combination  of  two  or  more, 

or  even  all  of  these  methods. 

Reading  a  speech.  —  Of  all  the  methods  used  in  speech 
making,  that  of  writing  out  a  speech  and  then  reading  it 
is  perhaps  the  worst.  The  speaker  must  imagine  the  exact 
circumstances  under  which  the  speech  is  to  be  delivered, 
which  is  not  always  easy  to  do,  —  and  even  after  this  has 
been  done,  some  unforeseen  circumstance  may  render  any 
amount  of  painstaking  worthless.  The  speaker  cannot 
change  a  sentence  or  a  paragraph  according  to  the  appre- 
ciation of  the  audience,  —  he  must  read  it  as  it  is  written 
(or  else  for  the  moment  adopt  one  of  the  other  methods, 
which,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  is  what  most  readers  do). 
Again,  a  carefully  prepared  paragraph  or  argument  may 
suddenly  be  rendered  useless  by  some  current  event.  In 
the  delivery,  also,  the  speaker  is  greatly  hampered.  If  he 
hold  his  paper  in  his  hands,  he  is  deprived  of  one  of  the 
most  useful  sources  of  gesture.  His  eye  also  loses  its 
control  of  the  audience  on  account  of  the  necessity  of 
constantly  referring  to  the  manuscript.  There  is  always 
the  possibility  of  there  being  no  reading  stand  upon  which 
to  lay  the  manuscript  and  the  still*  more  annoying  cir- 


STYLES    OF   SPEAKING  153 

cumstance  of  there  being  no  adequate  light.  The  stand, 
again,  may  be  too  low  and  the  speaker  may  be  compelled 
to  bend  forward  in  his  effort  to  see  his  paper,  thus  endan- 
gering the  ability  of  the  audience  to  hear,  and  making 
utterance  more  difficult.  The  plan  has  the  advantage  that 
the  speaker  rarely  says  anything  to  which  he  has  not 
given  careful  thought  and  which  he  is  not  prepared  to 
support  more  fully  if  called  upoij.  Further,  he  may  bend 
all  his  artistic  energies  toward  making  the  speech  a  model 
of  rhetorical  style,  and  this,  too,  at  his  leisure. 

Speaking  from  memory.  —  This  method  is  productive  of 
the  most  artistic  results,  perhaps,  of  any ;  especially  is 
this  true  of  its  use  upon  those  occasions  which  are  well 
established,  when  the  speaker  can  accurately  forecast  the 
conditions  under  which  he  is  to  speak.  As  to  the  writing, 
it  has  all  the  advantages,  of  course,  that  are  possessed  by 
the  first  method,  —  that  of  writing  and  then  reading,  — 
and  to  these  may  be  added  all  the  graces  of  delivery  that 
can  be  secured  by  careful  attention  to  good  technique  in 
voice  and  action,  for  a  speaker  using  this  method  can  pre- 
pare his  gestures  and  his  tones  of  voice  with  the  same  care 
that  he  prepares  his  manuscript.  Its  disadvantages  lie  in 
the  fact  that  very  few  people  have  memories  which  are 
absolutely  sure, —in  the  experiences  of  nearly  all  speak- 
ers using  this  method  there  have  occurred  moments  when 
they  have  entirely  forgotten  their  words,  —  which,  of 
course,  is  very  embarrassing.  It  is  a  very  laborious 
method.  Very  few  people  commit  easily  and  a  vast 
amount  of  valuable  time  is  spent  in  this  galley-slave  work. 

This  method  is  very  useful  as  an  exercise  for  those  just 
beginning  in  the  art  of  public  speech,  for  it  gives  excellent 
training  both  in  the  writing  of  a  speech  and  in  its  delivery, 
since  both  are  subject  to  careful  forethought.  Nearly  all 
great  speakers  have  at  one  time  or  another  used  this  style. 


154  STYLES    OF   SPEAKING 

Speaking  from  notes.  —  This  method,  in  the  hands  of  a 
master,  approaches  more  nearly  to  the  ideal.  If  this  style 
is  used,  no  endeavor  should  be  made  to  conceal  the  notes. 
They  should  be  written  plainly,  so  that  the  eye  may  follow 
them  and  pick  up  the  next  topic  or  heading  during  the 
utterance  of  one  of  the  closing  sentences  on  the  preceding 
topic  or  during  the  brief  pause  between  paragraphs.  The 
danger  is  that  a  speaker,  under  the  excitment  of  the  mo- 
ment, may  be  unable  to  recall  what  he  is  to  say  under  the 
heading  or  may  totally  fail  to  understand  it.  For  this 
reason  "  catch  words "  should  be  avoided,  the  headings 
being  written  out  in  full.  It  is  better  to  hold  the  notes  in 
the  hand  if  the  speaker  moves  about  much  on  the  platform, 
lest  at  some  time  he  finish  a  paragraph  at  some  distance 
from  the  desk  and  be  compelled  to  walk  back  to  it  before 
taking  up  the  next  point.  The  paper  upon  which  the  notes 
are  written  may  often  be  used  in  gestures  with  good  effect, 
being  shaken  to  emphasize  a  point,  or  being  lifted  even 
high  above  the  head  in  strong  parts  of  the  speech. 

Extempore  speaking.  —  Notwithstanding  each  of  the 
methods  of  speaking  just  mentioned  has  its  advantages, 
the  extempore  style,  nearly  all  authorities  agree,  is  the 
final  flower  of  all  oratorical  study.  Extempore  speaking 
is,  —  as  the  Latin  words  ex  tempore  signify,  —  speaking 
"upon  the  spur  of  the  moment."  The  term  was  formerly 
applied  to  that  speaking  which  was  done  without  pre- 
vious notification  and  without  any  preparation.  This  sort 
of  speaking  to-day,  however,  is  styled  "  impromptu  speak- 
ing," and  the  term  "  extempore  speaking "  is  limited  to 
such  speaking  as  implies  careful  preparation  upon  the 
material  of  the  speech  but  no  particular  preparation 
upon  its  language.  With  this  style  well  in  hand,  the 
speaker  may  at  times  reach  heights^  never  attainable  by 
any  of  the  other  methods.  This  style  requires  more 


STYLES   OF   SPEAKING  155 

general  preparation,  but  less  particular  preparation.  He 
that  uses  it  successfully  must  generally  be  a  greater  man 
than  he  that  does  not,  but  even  a  mediocre  speech  gains  by 
being  delivered  in  a  good  extempore  style.  The  speaker 
who  speaks  extempore  must  know  how  to  construct  the 
skeleton  of  a  good  speech,  he  must  know  rhetoric,  he  must 
know  grammar,  and  must  know  the  last  two  so  well  that 
he  may  compose  good  English  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  or  two  hundred  words  a  minute.  With  these 
attainments,  —  which  are  the  ones  that  give  the  beginner 
trouble, — he  is  left  free  to  adapt  his  work  to  the  time, 
place,  and  occasion  as  no  other  speaker  can  possibly  do.  He 
can  indulge  in  a  hand  to  hand  grapple  with  the  audience,  if 
necessary,  picking  up  questions  called  from  the  audience 
and  answering  them  on  the  spot  He  is  always  at  liberty 
to  watch  how  his  speech  is  affecting  his  audience  and  to 
qualify  or  emphasize  his  words  as  the  occasion  demands. 
If  some  sudden  inspiration  of  fancy  seizes  him  while  speak- 
ing, he  is  free  to  insert  it;  and  on  the  other  hand,  if  some 
prepared  thought  is  evidently  going  to  prove  disadvanta- 
geous, it  may  be  omitted.  Not  so  much  attention  need  be 
paid  to  voice  or  action,  for  he  is  now  sure  to  be  thinking 
his  speech  as  he  goes  along,  and  the  consequent  feeling  and 
its  expression  follow  closely  with  unerring  accuracy. 

Beginners,  however,  find  difficulty  arising  from  various 
sources.  Sometimes  the  excitement  of  appearing  before 
an  audience  seems  to  paralyze  the  thought  activities  and 
the  mind  becomes  a  blank.  This  must  be  overcome  simply 
by  perseverance.  Again  the  student  may  be  hampered  by 
his  lack  of  dexterity  in  rhetoric.  This  may  be  overcome 
by  a  great  amount  of  writing,  first  writing  slowly,  and  then 
more  and  more  rapidly,  until  finally  the  pen  or  pencil  is  too 
slow,  when  the  student  may  speak  his  speech  at  first  slowly, 
and  then  more  and  more  rapidly,  until  the  required  speed  is 


156  STYLES   OF   SPEAKING 

reached.  Difficulties  with  grammar  may  be  eliminated  in 
the  same  way.  Too  many  students  are  apt  to  believe,  also, 
that  the  "  gift  of  gab  "  is  all  that  is  necessary,  —  to  say 
something  and  keep  on  saying  it.  This  is  entirely  an  error. 
The  extemporaneous  paragraph  if  taken  down  by  a  ste- 
nographer and  printed,  should  show  all  the  exactness  in 
structure  that  is  possessed  by  the  carefully  written  para- 
graph. To  avoid  constantly  repeating  one  thing,  a  definite 
progressive  outline  should  be  made,  and  then  the  speech 
should  progress  with  it.  It  might  be  well  for  the  student  to 
prepare  about  four  times  the  material  he  needs  under  each 
head  and  then  he  will  be  sure  to  have  plenty  to  say,  even 
if  some  of  it  slips  away  when  he  rises  to  speak. 

Combination  methods. — Very  often  speakers  use  a 
method  combining  two  or  more  of  the  preceding  methods. 
A  speaker  may  read  most  of  his  speech,  but  occasionally 
through  it  he  may  lay  aside  the  manuscript  and  launch 
forth  upon  a  committed  paragraph.  This  is  better  than 
reading  altogether,  but  usually  the  committed  portion  seems 
so  much  more  interesting  to  the  audience  that  they  count 
the  rest  of  the  reading  intolerably  dull.  Again  the  relief 
paragraphs  may  be  extempore,  but  where  the  speaker  is 
not  experienced  in  this  style  they  are  apt  to  be  halting  and 
fragmentary,  although  the  speaker  undoubtedly  gains  in  the 
attention  of  his  audience.  Some  speakers  combine  the  ex- 
tempore and  memoriter  methods,  writing  out  and  commit- 
ting to  memory,  say,  the  introduction,  the  conclusion,  and  a 
few  of  the  most  important  parts  of  the  speeches,  while  they 
leave  the  remainder  to  the  extempore  style.  This  has  the 
advantage  that  the  speaker  is  sure  of  effective  language  at 
critical  places,  but  the  differences  in  style  are  often  too  ap- 
parent, and  since  the  speaker  goes  faster  generally  upon 
the  committed  portions,  the  speech  acquires  a  sort  of  jerky 
effect. 


LESSON    XXXIX 
GENERAL   OBSERVATIONS   ON   RECITING 

WITH  direct  address,  such  as  is  found  in  an  oration  or 
debate,  much  less  trouble  is  experienced  by  the  beginner 
than  with  reciting  proper,  where  he  is  obliged  to  take  the 
part  of  one  or  more  characters.  To  aid  the  student  in  this 
sort  of  work,  a  few  suggestions  are  given  below. 

See  your  characters  yourself.  —  First  of  all,  it  is  necessary 
that  you  actually  see  your  characters  yourself.  If  you  are 
Brutus,  you  must  imagine  that  you  have  on  your  coat  of 
mail,  that  you  have  your  sword  at  your  side.  If  you  are 
Aunt  Chloe,  you  must  imagine  yourself  in  the  checked 
apron,  with  the  red  bandanna  around  your  head,  and  with 
the  thick  lips  and  Southern  dialect.  You  can  never  hope 
to  make  your  audience  see  your  characters  if  you  do  not 
see  them  yourself. 

It  is  just  as  necessary,  too,  that  you  see  the  characters 
you  are  addressing.  When  you,  as  one  character,  talk  to 
them,  they  will  respond  (in  your  imagination),  perhaps  by 
smiling  at  you,  perhaps  by  frowning,  or  threatening  you. 
This,  in  turn,  will  have  its  effect  upon  your  own  facial  ex- 
pression, and  the  audience  will  see  the  whole  scene  before 
them. 

Position  of  characters.  —  In  reciting,  the  reader  stands 
almost  still,  only  turning  slightly  from  side  to  side.  Below 
is  given  a  diagram  which  will  aid  the  student. 

Let  a  represent  the  reciter.  If  he  is  addressing  b,  he 
will  look  along  the  line  ab,  at  an  angle  not  greater  than 


158         GENERAL   OBSERVATIONS    ON    RECITING 


forty  degrees  to  the  left  of  a  line  running  to  the  center  of 
the  audience.  To  look  along  the  dotted  line  ad,  as  if  your 
characters  were  on  the  platform  with  you,  would  be  bad, 
for  then  the  people  on  your  extreme  right  would  have 
trouble  in  hearing  you  and  would  not  be  able  to  see  your 
facial  expression.  It  must  be  remembered,  too,  that  when 
you  are  addressing  b,  you  must  look  steadily  at  b.  Do  not 
let  your  gaze  wander,  but  keep  it  glued  to  your  character. 


_— vo- 


lt is  a  good  plan  to  take  some  object  on  the  wall,  a  win- 
dow, a  gas  jet,  or  something,  as  a  guide. 

When  you  are  through  talking  to  b,  and  b  is  about  to 
speak,  imagine  that  b  has  come  to  where  you  are,  that  is, 
to  a,  and  that  you,  or,  better,  the  character  you  just  were, 
have  gone  to  c.  Then  you  at  <?,  as  £,  must  address  c  along 
the  line  ac. 

Do  not  get  your  grown  people  too  small.  Remember 
that  they  are  about  as  tall  as  you  are,  and  that  you  are 
supposed  to  look  them  in  the  eye. 

Just  suggest  the  actions  of  the  characters.  —  It  is  not 
necessary,  in  fact  it  is  not  good,  to  imitate  your  characters 
exactly.  Just  suggest  them  to  your  audience.  For  in- 
stance, if  a  character  kneels,  it  is  not  necessary  for  you 
to  kneel;  just  the  clasped  hands  and  a  slight  bend  in  the 
forward  knee  will  be  enough  to  suggest  the  action.  If  a 


GENERAL   OBSERVATIONS   ON    RECITING          159 

character  draws  a  sword,  it  is  not  necessary  to  put  it  away. 
Do  not  use  any  costume  whatever. 

Put  your  pictures   to  one  side  and  let  your  eyes   "flit 
back  and  forth  "  between  them  and  your  audience.  —  It  is 

sometimes  well,  in  describing  very  vivid  scenes,  to  imagine 
that  you  see  them  off  to  one  side  (never  farther  to  the  sides 
than  the  lines  ab  and  ac\  Then  tell  the  audience  what 
you  see,  looking  now  at  the  picture  off  yonder,  and  now  at 
the  audience.  In  case  you  use  gestures,  pointing  to  the 
scene,  look  back  to  the  audience  just  as  the  stroke  comes. 
Use  taste.  —  It  disgusts  an  audience  to  overpersonate. 
In  nearly  every  case,  if  you  can  tell  about  the  scene,  the 
audience  would  prefer  it ;  but  when  the  interest  becomes 
absorbing,  then  you  may  change  your  method.  If  there 
is  only  a  line  or  two  in  the  selections  that  are  quoted,  per- 
haps it  would  not  be  best  to  impersonate  them.  Do  not 
begin  a  recitation  with  a  violent  impersonation.  Work  up 
to  it  with  a  little  introduction,  if  you  must  start  with  it. 


LESSON    XL 
GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  STAGE  DEPORTMENT 

ONE  of  the  best  exercises  for  developing  freedom  of 
action  and  naturalness  of  melody  is  that  of  presenting 
before  the  class  or  school  short  scenes  from  good  plays. 
In  order  that  this  may  be  done  well,  a  few  simple  sug- 
gestions that  govern  the  art  of  acting  are  here  given. 
Each  scene,  of  course,  must  be  worked  out  by  itself,  but 
the  following  hints  will  help  materially  in  "  putting  on  "  a 
good  production. 

Position.  —  It  should  always  be  remembered  that  the 
actor  is  playing  for  the  audience.  Too  many  young 
students  play  for  the  other  characters  on  the  stage.  Re- 
member that,  although  you  must  seem  to  play  for  the 
other  characters,  you,  /;/  reality,  must  play  for  the  audi- 
ence. This  will  affect  your  position.  The  foot  farthest 
from  the  audience  should  be  extended  toward  the  character 
whom  you  are  addressing.  This  will  turn  you  more 
toward  the  audience  than  if  you  stood  the  other  way,  and 
they  will  thus  be  enabled  to  hear  you  better,  and  to  see 
the  expression  on  your  face.  If  possible,  it  is  well  to  seek 
a  position  "up  stage,"  that  is,  toward  the  back  of  the 
stage,  from  the  character  you  are  addressing.  This  will 
aid  in  the  same  manner  as  the  position  of  the  feet,  which 
has  just  been  mentioned.  Be  careful,  however,  not  to  let 
the  audience  know  that  you  are  seeking  such  a  position. 
Slip  into  it  when  they  are  interested, in  something  else. 

Remember,  too,  that  it  is  not  always  necessary  to  look 

160 


OBSERVATIONS   ON    STAGE    DEPORTMENT         161 

straight  at  a  character  on  all  of  your  speeches.  In  a  room 
at  home  we  often  say  things  to  another  person  when  we 
are  looking  entirely  away  from  them.  So  in  acting,  it  may 
be  possible,  if  you  cannot  get  into  a  position  so  as  to  ad- 
dress both  the  audience  and  the  character,  to  address  only 
the  audience ;  that  is,  not  talking  directly  to  the  audience, 
but  looking  off  somewhere,  and  yet  facing  the  audience  so 
that  they  can  hear.  Do  not  overdo  this  little  device.  It 
is  especially  good  in  a  quarrel,  or  when  the  relations  of  the 
characters  are  strained,  or  when  the  remark  is  a  careless 
one,  but  it  should  not  be  used  on  any  speech  where  there 
is  a  call  for  directness. 

When  your  part  is  a  heavy  one,  that  is,  when  you  have 
a  great  deal  to  say,  seek  the  center  of  the  stage  and  get 
the  other  characters  in  front  of  you  and  toward  the  sides. 

Be  careful  not  to  turn  your  back  on  the  audience,  except 
on  very  rare  occasions.  For  this  reason,  when  you  pace 
across  the  stage,  stop  with  your  back  foot,  the  one  farthest 
from  the  audience,  the  one  farthest  "  up  stage,"  out,  and 
then  turn  toward  the  audience,  and  around. 

In  making  gestures  with  both  hands,  let  the  hand  next 
the  audience  lag  a  little,  so  that  it  will  not  get  in  front  of 
your  face.  For  this  purpose,  too,  allow  it  to  be  a  little 
lower  than  the  other. 

In  turning,  you  may  rise  slightly  on  your  toes  and  swing 
round  on  them,  instead  of  taking  steps  ;  this  is  especially 
good  on  quick  turns.  Do  not  ever  cross  the  feet  in  turning. 

Voice.  —  The  same  holds  true  in  regard  to  the  voice  as  in 
regard  to  the  position  of  the  actor,  —  he  must  remember 
that,  although  he  must  seem  to  talk  to  the  characters  on 
the  stage,  he  must  really  talk  to  the  people  on  the  back 
seats  in  his  audience.  It  will  be  difficult  for  a  time  to  exag- 
gerate the  conversation  sufficiently,  but  ability  will  come 
with  practice  and  insistence  on  the  part  of  the  instructor. 

PUB.  SPEAK.  —  1 1 


1*62    OBSERVATIONS  ON  STAGE  DEPORTMENT 

Because  the  audience  must  hear,  when  the  actor  turns  his 
back,  or  even  turns  slightly  away,  he  should  increase  his 
loudness.  In  such  cases,  the  sound  waves  must,  to  some 
extent,  reach  the  hearer  by  reflection,  by  bounding  back 
from  some  opposite  wall,  and  they  lose  some  of  their  inten- 
sity by  the  process. 

Crossing. — To  avoid  making  a  scene  appear  wooden, 
there  must  be  constant  action,  —  the  characters  must  move 
about.  The  following  three  rules  will  govern  this  action. 

1.  Try  to  cross  on  a  vigorous  speech.     Action  is  natural 
to  emotion.     When  a  person  is  highly  wrought,  he  is  much 
more  likely  to  move  about. 

2.  Let  the  speaking  character  cross  in  front  of  the  others. 
The  reason  here  is  the  same  as  that  given  above,  —  the 
audience  must  hear,  and  it  is  safer  to  have  the  speaker  cross 
in  front  for  this  reason.     Too,  the  people  are  interested, 
generally,  in  the  speaking  character,  and  he  should  be  in 
the  foreground. 

3.  Let  the  silent  characters  have  their  share  of  the  cross- 
ing.    If  they  cross  in  the  opposite  direction,  as  the  speaker 
crosses,  he  will  only  have  to  go  one  half  as  far,  and  the 
stage,  at  the  end  of  the  cross,  will  be  in  better  balance. 

Grouping.  —  About  the  only  direction  necessary  for  stage 
grouping  is  that  the  characters  be  so  placed  that  they  can 
all  be  seen  by  the  audience,  —  so  that  they  do  not  stand 
one  in  front  of  the  other  as  seen  from  the  audience,  and  so 
that  a  view  of  them  is  not  obstructed  by  any  stage  property, 
such  as  a  bouquet,  a  lamp,  or  the  trunk  of  a  tree. 

A  semicircle,  when  there  are  many  characters,  is  good, 
but  it  is  better  if  the  large  semicircle  be  broken  up  into 
several  smaller  ones.  Do  not  allow  all  the  characters  to 
look  straight  at  the  audience,  like  so  many  tin  soldiers. 
Suit  the  direction  of  their  glances^  to  the  momentary 
suggestion  of  the  scene. 


OBSERVATIONS   ON    STAGE   DEPORTMENT         163 

Entrances  and  exits.  —  Do  not  come  on  the  stage,  take  a 
position,  then  assume  the  emotion  called  for,  and  finally 
speak  your  lines.  When  you  enter  you  should  already  be 
in  the  mood,  and  the  words  should  follow  immediately. 
Neither,  when  you  have  finished  your  part,  should  you 
walk  off  as  if  you  were  all  done  with  your  little  speech  and 
were  now  going  off  the  stage.  Suit  your  exit  to  the  mood 
also. 

The  stage.  —  Below  is  given  a  diagram  of  the  stage, 
with  the  terms  generally  used  in  the  plays  put  out  by  the 
dramatic  publishing  houses.  Remember  that  all  directions 
are  written  for  the  actor,  —  for  instance,  when  the  direction 
is  "  going  left,"  it  means  to  the  actor's  left,  not  to  the  left 
of  the  stage  as  seen  by  the  audience. 

D.  R.C.  D.C.  D.  L.C. 

R.  u-  E. ,  '       :  L.  U.  E. 

/  UP  STAGE  OR  BACK  \ 

R.3  E  L.3  E. 

/   R.  R.C.      C.       L.C.  L.   \ 

/  RIGHT  RIGHT  CENTER    LEFT  LEFT  \ 

R.  2  E.  CENTER           CENTER  L.  2  E. 


R.  1   EJ 

DOWN  STAGE  OR  FRONT 


\, 


THE  AUDIENCE 


APPENDIX 

I.   WRITING  AN  ORATION 
II.   TRAINING  FOR  CONTESTS 
III.   SOME  EXTEMPORE  PROGRAMS  FOR  BEGINNERS 


164 


APPENDIX 
I.     WRITING  AN  ORATION 

WITH  all  the  graces  of  elocution,  no  speaker  will 
succeed  unless  he  has  something  good  to  say.  Further 
than  this,  a  speaker  might  be  able  to  write  a  good  essay 
on  his  subject,  and  yet  not  be  able  to  frame  his  thoughts 
for  a  good  oration.  There  are  certain  peculiarities  that  go 
with  oratorical  composition. 

Not  all  subjects  are  suitable  for  orations.  —  Not  all  sub- 
jects are  capable  of  good  oratorical  treatment.  The 
essential  difference  between  an  oration  and  other  forms  of 
literary  composition  is  that  it  makes  an  appeal.  It  may 
aim  at  influencing  the  action  of  men,  or  merely  at  getting 
them  to  think  differently,  but  it  must  make  an  appeal  of 
some  sort.  From  this  standpoint,  it  is  evident  that  no 
oration  could  be  written  on  Radium,  or  The  Mechanical 
Construction  of  Automobiles.  Orations  could 'be  written  on 
the  Abolition  of  Child  Labor,  or  Napoleon —  TJie  Misunder- 
stood. A  man  may  be  held  up  as  the  incarnation  of  some 
principle  which  we  should  adopt  in  our  lives,  —  such  is 
nearly  always  the  purpose  of  the  biographical  oration.  It 
might  be  stated  that  the  best  subjects  to  write  on  are 
men,  battles  (forensic  or  military),  and  problems  (industrial, 
governmental,  social,  etc.) 

Make  up  your  mind  what  thought  you  want  your  audi- 
ence to  carry  away.  —  After  you  have  selected  your  sub- 
ject,—  or  while  you  are  selecting  it,  —  some  one -thought 
will  present  itself  to  you .  as  the  one  you  want  your  audi- 

165 


166  APPENDIX 

ence  to  carry  away.  After  this  has  come  to  you,  —  don't 
have  more  than  one  purpose  in  your  speech,  and  be  sure 
that  you  believe  in  it  yourself,  —  think  of  all  the  possible 
things  you  know  about  the  subject  that  would  help  you 
to  impress  this  thought  upon  your  audience.  These  dif- 
ferent things  will  make  about  a  paragraph  apiece.  You 
may  not  be  able  at  once  to  think  of  all  that  you  will 
finally  use,  but  jot  down  those  ideas  that  do  occur  to  you, 
and  keep  adding  to  them  as  you  keep  thinking  about 
your  subject.  Doubtless,  as  you  read,  too,  others  will 
occur  to  you.  Dovetail  these  into  the  one  great  purpose 
that  is  governing  your  speech. 

Take  notes  in  your  own  language.  —  Never  take  notes 
in  the  language  of  the  book  or  magazine  you  are  reading. 
If  you  do,  some  one  may  sometime  accuse  you  of  plagiarism 
(stealing  literary  property)  when  you  really  think  yourself 
innocent.  Take  all  your  notes  in  your  own  language,  — 
unless,  of  course,  you  purposely  wish  to  quote  something, 
when  you  should  always  mention  the  author's  name.  This 
is  required  in  most  of  the  large  oratorical  leagues. 

Read  some  great  orator  whose  style  you  like,  just  be- 
fore writing.  —  Every  person,  nearly,  looks  up  to  some 
great  orator  as  his  ideal.  There  is  some  orator  whose 
style  always  inspires  you,  —  makes  you  want  to  do  such 
things  as  he  did.  Get  some  speech  of  this  great  orator  and 
read  it  until  you  feel  that  you  must  throw  the  book  aside 
and  get  at  writing  some  of  your  own  thoughts.  Then 
write  at  once.  Give  your  thought  free  rein.  Don't  try  to 
determine  whether  what  you  are  writing  is  good  or  not,  — 
write,  write,  —  don't  even  stop  for  the  penmanship.  This 
inspiration  will  probably  last  until  you  get  nearly  your 
whole  speech  written.  Toward  the  end  you  will  find  that 
you  are  getting  tired,  and  that  you-do  not  make  such 
good  headway  as  at  first.  When  this  occurs,  stop,  lay 


WRITING   AN    ORATION  1 67 

the  manuscript  aside,  and — forget  it.  Later,  not  before 
the  next  day,  look  over  what  you  have  written.  Some 
of  it  will  probably  look  foolish.*  If  it  does,  cut  it  out. 
Roughly  arrange  what  you  have  left,  read  it  all  over 
again,  read  your  "  inspiration  orator  "  again,  then  reread 
your  material  very  rapidly,  and  write  your  conclusion. 
Now  lay  the  manuscript  aside  again. 

The  first  revision.  —  A  day  or  so  later,  look  at  your 
speech  once  more.  Doubtless  there  will  be  some  more 
writing  that  will  have  to  go.  Don't  be  afraid  to  get  rid  of 
it.  Work  this  time  to  get  your  paragraphs  arranged  so 
that  they  follow  one  another  naturally,  and  so  that  the 
oratorical  intensity  of  the  speech  grows  toward  the  end. 
Perhaps  a  sentence  here  and  there  will  not  suit  you.  Fix 
it.  After  this  is  all  done,  recopy. 

The  second  revision.  —  After  the  recopy  has  rested  a 
day  or  so,  sit  down  and  carefully  labor  over  each  sentence, 
for  structure  and  diction.  Test  every  clause,  every  word, 
every  punctuation  mark,  by  the  best  knowledge  you  have. 
Cut  out  a  good  many  of  your  connectives.  Remember  you 
can  give  to  an  audience  by  an  inflection  of  the  voice,  what 
oftentimes  it  would  take  a  whole  sentence  to  say  in  words 
on  the  written  page.  Don't  be  worried  if  it  does  not  read 
well.  Get  up  and  go  through  it  as  if  you  were  speaking 
it  and  see  if  it  sounds  well.  If  any  part  does  not  suit  you, 
labor  at  it  till  it  does. 

The  final  copy.  —  Now  take  this  copy,  —  which  should 
be  so  full  of  corrections  that  you  can  hardly  make  out 
what  the  right  correction  is,  —  and  copy  it  finally.  It 
would  do  no  harm,  —  in  fact  you  really  ought,  —  to  go  over 
this  final  copy  again,  to  give  the  last  touches  before  it 
leaves  your  hands.  With  this  done,  you  can  rest  from 
your  labors,  feeling  that  you  have  done  the  best  that  could 
be  done. 


1 68  APPENDIX 

II.     TRAINING   FOR   CONTESTS 

Whether  any  instructor  should  have  a  part  in  the  train- 
ing of  contestants  for  a  public  contest  is  a  debatable 
question.  But  whichever  way  it  is  decided,  the  following 
hints  it  is  hoped  will  be  of  assistance. 

Start  early.  —  This  direction  may  seem  needless,  but 
it  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  Unforeseen  difficulties 
are  always  sure  to  arise,  and  it  is  far  better  to  have  too 
much  time  than  to  go  on  the  platform  feeling  that  not 
all  has  been  done  that  could  be  done.  With  high  school 
pupils  a  preparation  extending  through  ten  weeks  would 
not  be  any  too  long. 

Work  every  day.  —  This  is  very  important.  Especially 
in  the  matter  of  voice  will  this  be  imperative.  The 
voice  does  not  grow,  any  more  than  any  of  our  other 
muscular  powers,  by  fits  and  starts.  It  is  the  constant, 
daily  exercise  that  counts.  A  voice  can  be  wonderfully 
strengthened  by  steady  work  every  day  for  ten  wreeks. 
Work  both  on  voice  exercises  and  the  delivery  of  short 
passages.  As  for  gesture,  all  the  primary  positions  of 
the  hand  should  be  mastered  in  all  the  zones.  Work, 
if  alone,  before  the  mirror ;  if  the  instructor  is  present,  get 
on  the  platform  and  let  him  criticize  each  gesture  severely. 
Do  not  let  the  slightest  thing  that  does  not  please  him 
remain  in  your  delivery.  Practice  all  the  technique  of 
moving  about  on  the  platform  also.  In  all  your  work, 
both  in  action  and  voice,  imagine  your  contest  audience 
in  front  of  you.  At  least  an  hour's  work  every  day,  five 
days  in  the  week,  should  be  indulged  in. 

Committing.  —  After  the  speech  is  written,  or  the  reci- 
tation or  declamation  selected,  and  after  this  preliminary 
work  has  been  done,  comes  the  committing.  Here  all 
the  devices  known  for  memorizing  may  be  used. 


TRAINING   FOR   CONTESTS  169 

First.  —  Work  when  you  are  rested  and  in  good  health. 
If  your  health  is  not  the  best,  strive  to  perfect  it  as  soon 
as  possible.  If  you  are  tired  at*night,  as  is  usually  the 
case,  work  in  the  morning. 

Second.  —  Understand  your  speech  thoroughly.  If  it  is 
a  recitation,  or  declamation,  this  is  especially  important. 
Never  have  a  single  word  in  your  speech  that  you  do  not 
understand.  Go  through  your  speech,  whether  it  be  de- 
bate, recitation,  declamation,  or  oration,  and  make  an 
outline,  observing  the  connection,  not  in  words,  but  in 
thought,  of  each  sentence  to  those- that  go  before.  Why 
does  this  come  next  ?  Is  this  the  effect  of  that  ?  What 
things  go  to  support  this  point  ?  How  many  points  are 
there  ?  Where  does  the  leading  character  go  from  here  ? 
What  mental  picture  follows  that  mental  picture  ?  Go 
through  all  your  speech  and  study  it  out. 

Third.  —  Commit  in  large  sections.  Get  the  drift  by 
reading  the  whole  production  through  several  times. 
After  this  is  done  you  may  go  back  and  correct  any 
slips  in  the  wording  that  have  crept  in. 

Fourth.  —  Use  several  means  for  fixing  the  speech  in  your 
mind.  Write  it ;  the  action  of  the  muscles  in  writing  will 
help  you  to  remember.  Read  it  to  yourself  from  the  manu- 
script page ;  the  position  as  regards  page  and  line  will  help. 
Read  it  aloud ;  the  sound  of  your  voice  will  aid.  Have 
some  one  else  read  it  aloud ;  the  way  they  read  it  will  im- 
press you.  If  it  is  a  recitation,  see  the  different  scenes  as 
they  are  stationary ;  see  the  characters  as  they  move  about 
also.  Hear  the  noises  or  sounds  that  would  accompany  the 
scene. 

Fifth.  —  In  case  any  particular  place  gives  you  trouble, 
you  will  generally  find  that  it  is  on  account  of  a  lack  of 
sequence  in  the  thought.  In  such  cases,  it  is  well  to  re- 
peat the  last  words  of  the  preceding  sentence  with  the  first 


I/O  APPENDIX 

words  of  the  following  sentence  in  a  perfectly  mechanical 
way  several  score  of  times,  at  least  until  the  very  act  of 
repeating  the  last  words  of  the  sentence  preceding  the  bad 
place  suggests  at  once  the  first  words  after  it.  When  this 
action  of  the  mind  has  been  secured,  it  is  an  easy  task  to 
say  the  words  with  the  expression  desired. 

Do  not  overtrain.  —  As  the  time  of  the  contest  draws 
near,  with  all  this  daily  work  of  rehearsal,  there  may  some- 
times develop  a  tendency  to  be  "  tired  of  the  whole  thing." 
If  this  condition  arises,  drop  out  a  rehearsal,  take  an  un- 
usually long  night's  rest,  eat  plenty  of  good  food,  and  take 
a  good  long  walk  in  the  open  air. 

Nearing  the  end.  —  After  everything  is  in  readiness,  and 
the  last  week  is  before  you,  lighten  the  work  a  little.  For 
the  first  few  days  of  the  week  one  rehearsal  a  day  in  ex- 
actly the  form  wished  at  the  contest  will  be  enough.  About 
three  days  before  the  final  event  there  should  be  a  dress 
rehearsal.  The  drape  of  a  dress,  or  the  arrangement  of  a 
tie  or  pair  of  cuffs,  may  sometimes  prove  a  hindrance  to 
the  means  of  expression  previously  drilled  on.  For  the 
last  three  days  the  contestant  should  not  speak  his  produc- 
tion aloud.  He  may  sit  down  and  repeat  it  to  his  in- 
structor, merely  to  keep  the  memory  channels  from  filling 
up,  but  no  vigorous  practice  whatever  should  be  indulged 
in.  Long  walks  should  be  taken  daily.  Be  careful  of  ex- 
posure which  might  lead  to  a  cold.  Take  good  rest.  If 
possible,  a  week  beforehand,  the  contestant  should  see  the 
auditorium  in  which  he  is  to  speak.  The  image  of  the 
place  will  then  stay  in  his  mind,  and  all  of  his  practice  will 
be  done  with  the  particular  conditions  under  which  he  is 
to  speak  clearly  in  his  mind.  This  will  avoid  any  shock 
on  the  final  day. 

The  final  day.  —  This  is  the  hardest-day  of  all  to  outline. 
If  a  trip  must  be  taken,  get  to  the  place  before  noon. 


TRAINING    FOR   CONTESTS  I/I 

After  lunch  go  to  the  auditorium,  see  how  the  furniture 
is  arranged,  practice  the  start  and  finish  of  the  speech,  and 
go  back  to  the  hotel.  Do  not  go*to  a  private  house  if  it 
is  possible  to  avoid  it.  You  will  be  under  certain  obliga- 
tions there  which  will  not  be  met  at  the  hotel,  where  you 
can  be  governed  absolutely  by  your  own  pleasure.  After 
you  have  returned  to  the  hotel,  go  to  your  room,  pull  down 
the  curtain,  and  lie  down.  If  you  can  sleep,  do  it,  if  not, 
at  least  stay  on  your  back.  Get  up  a  little  before  dinner, 
take  a  short  walk,  and  eat  for  dinner  the  same  kind  of  food 
that  you  usually  do  at  home,  but  perhaps  a  little  less  of  it. 
Be  careful  here.  Nothing  is  so  fatal  as  a  change  of  diet 
at  this  late  date.  Don't  use  any  special  stimulant,  such  as 
coffee,  unless  you  are  in  the  habit  of  taking  it  at  home  at 
your  regular  dinner;  the  excitement  of  the  occasion  will 
be  enough  of  a  stimulant.  If  you  have  kept  on  your  usual 
clothes, — at  least  loose  ones,  —  during  the  day,  when  you 
get  dressed  for  the  evening  you  will  feel  the  best  you  ever 
felt  in  your  life.  Try  the  start  and  a  few  gestures  of  your 
speech  before  the  mirror  before  you  go  to  the  hall.  Be- 
ware of  reception  committees.  They  may  want  to  show  you 
the  sights  of  the  town,  but  their  intentions  should  always 
be  suspected.  Keep  to  your  method  of  training,  no  matter 
what  they  wish. 

At  the  hall.  —  After  you  get  to  the  auditorium,  don't 
stand  up.  Sit  down,  anywhere,  but  in  some  place  where 
no  draft  will  blow  upon  you.  Take  things  rather  easy 
until  two  or  three  minutes  before  you  are  to  go  on.  Don't 
use  any  more  energy  than  you  have  to.  If  charts  are  to 
be  used  in  the  debate,  they  should  be  put  up  by  some  one 
else,  and  you  should  only  go  to  see  if  the  pointer  is  in  its 
proper  place  and  that  the  charts  are  arranged  all  right.  If 
you  are  slow  to  warm  up  to  your  oration,  and  generally 
speak  it  better,  to  the  knowledge  of  your  trainer,  the  second 


172  APPENDIX  , 

time  of  an  evening  than  the  first,  get  him  to  send  you 
through  some  vigorous  gestures,  perhaps  those  of  your 
strongest  paragraph,  just  before  he  gives  you  the  final  push 
and  word. 

Afterwards.  —  If  you  have  followed  these  directions,  and 
no  accidents  have  occurred,  you  may  rest  in  quiet,  assured 
that  so  far  as  in  you  lay,  you  have  done  your  best  to  secure 
the  coveted  honors  of  the  contest. 

III.   SOME  EXTEMPORE  PROGRAMS  FOR  BEGINNERS 

Below  are  given  several  topics  that  will  usually  result  in 
good  speeches.  A  number  of  additional  topics  will  suggest 
themselves  under  each  head. 

1.  ATHLETICS: 

(<z)    Summer  baseball. 
(£)    Professionalism. 

(c)  Relative  value  of  baseball  and  basketball. 

(d)  Danger  of  football. 

(e)  Mental  and  moral  training  gained  in  football. 

2.  POLITICS: 

(a )  Disadvantage  of  adhering  to  party  lines. 

(£)  The  newspaper  and  politics. 

(c)  Advantages  of  the  primary  system. 

(d)  How  political  reforms  are  brought  about. 

(e)  Votes  for  women. 

3.  THE  NEW  EDUCATION: 

(a)  Manual  training. 
(x)  Wood  work. 
(y)  Metal  work. 

(b)  Domestic  science. 
(;r)  Cooking. 
00  Sewing. 

(c)  Stenography. 

(d)  The  vocation  teacher. 

(e)  Playgrounds  during  the  summer. 


SOME  EXTEMPORE  PROGRAMS         173 

4.  A  PROGRAM  FOR  PRACTICE  IN  INTRODUCING  A  SPEECH  : 
(a)    The  reminiscent  introduction. 

(£)    The  story  introduction.  * 

(c)  The  epigrammatic  or  paradoxical  introduct&>n. 

(d)  The  quotation  introduction. 

(e)  The  personal  introduction. 

5.  A  PROGRAM  FOR  PRACTICE  IN  CLOSING  A  SPEECH: 

(a)  The  summary. 

(1)  By  numbering  the  parts. 

(2)  By  using  such  terms  as  4*  again,"  "  further,"  etc. 

(b)  The  appeal. 

(c)  Closing  with  a  picture  of  ideal  conditions. 
{d)  Closing  with  a  prose  quotation. 

(<?)     Closing  with  a  poetical  quotation. 

6.  AN  EXPOSITORY  PROGRAM  : 

(a)  Explaining  wireless  telegraphy. 

(b)  Explaining  the  theory  of  aviation. 

(c)  The  judicial  recall. 

{d)  The  structure  of  an  epic  poem. 
(e)    The  structure  of  a  popular  song. 

7.  A  NARRATIVE  PROGRAM  : 
(a)    Some  trip. 

(£)    Some  football  game. 

(c)  Some  play. 

(d)  Some  meal. 

(e)  Some  party. 

8.  A  DESCRIPTIVE  PROGRAM  : 
(a)    Niagara. 

(£)  The  Rockies. 

(c)  The  mill  pond. 

(d)  A  friend^s  house. 

(e)  A  beautiful  picture. 

9.  AN  ARGUMENTATIVE  PROGRAM  : 

(a)    High  school  fraternities. 

(£)    The  honor  system. 

(c)     Elective  vs.  prescribed  studies. 


174  APPENDIX 

(d)  Examinations. 

(e)  Gymnasium  work. 

10.  A  STORY  PROGRAM: 

Reproduce  stories  from  the  current  magazines. 

1 1 .  CHARACTER  SKETCHING  : 

Sketch  some  strong  character  you  have  known. 

12.  THE  EULOGY: 

Praise  some  public  man. 


INDEX  OF  ORATORICAL  SELECTIONS 

BEECHER,  HENRY  WARD 

The  Martyr  President 95 

BEVERIDGE,  ALBERT  J. 

Trade  with  the  Philippines 34 

ELAINE,  JAMES  G. 

The  Death  of  Garfield 54 

BROOKS,  PHILLIPS 

The  Character  of  Lincoln        ......          68 

BURKE,  EDMUND 

The  True  Source  of  Revenue 65 

Arraignment  of  the  Ministry 94 

CALHOUN,  JOHN  C. 

Against  Enacting  an  Unenforceable  Law  .  .  59 

CHANNING,  WILLIAM  E. 

The  Business  of  War        .......  79 

CHOATE,  JOSEPH  H. 

On  First  Hearing  Abraham  Lincoln  ....  70 
COLLEGE  ORATIONS 

Pickett's  Charge  at  Gettysburg 52 

Discovery  of  America  by  Columbus  ....  54 
DICKENS,  CHARLES 

Speech  at  a  Charity  Dinner  .  .  .  .  .  72 

EVERETT,  EDWARD 

Galileo  the  Columbus  of  the  Heavens      .        .        .        .          39 

The  People  always  Conquer 53 

The  First  Settlement  of  New  England  ....  90 
GARFIELD,  JAMES  A. 

Nominating  John  Sherman  for  the  Presidency  .  .  72 

GRADY,  HENRY  W. 

The  Race  Problem 60 

GRATTAN,  HENRY 

Reply  to  Mr.  Corry 73 

Invective  Against  Mr.  Corry  (second  selection)       .        .         146 


176  INDEX    OF   ORATORICAL    SELECTIONS 

GOUGH,  JOHN  B. 

The  Niagara  of  Dissipation     .         .         .         .         .         .  52 

HARRISON,  BENJAMIN 

Everyday  Services .         .         no 

HENRY,  PATRICK 

They  Tell  Us  We  Are  Weak 89 

The  Battle  Not  to  the  Strong  Alone        ....          90 
HOFER,  ANDREAS 

In  His  Own  Defense 91 

HUGO,  VICTOR 

The  Present  Age 33 

INGALLS,  JOHN  J. 

Political  Equality  not  Social  Fraternity  .         .         .         .         no 

Democracy's  Debt  to  Science          .        .        .        .        .         no 
LAMARTINE,  ALPHONSE  DE 

The  Reign  of  Napoleon 

LEE,  RICHARD  HENRY 

Why  Longer  Delay          . 

LINCOLN,  ABRAHAM 

The  Gettysburg  Address 

LODGE,  HENRY  CABOT 

America's  Mission   ........ 

MAXCY,  JONATHAN 

The  First  American  Congress 

MCKINLEY,  WILLIAM 

A  Reunited  Country 

NEWMAN,  CARDINAL 

The  Power  of  Speech       .         .         .         . 
PARKER,  THEODORE 

Reminiscences  of  Lexington     ...... 

PHILLIPS,  WENDELL 

New  England  the  Cradle  of  Liberty 

Toussaint  L'Ouverture 

Toussaint  L'Ouverture  (second  selection)         .         . 

Daniel  O'Connell 

PITT,  WILLIAM 

You  Cannot  Conquer  America 
STEPHENS,  A.  H. 

Plea  against  Secession      .        .        . 


INDEX    OF    ORATORICAL    SELECTIONS  177 

STORY,  JOSEPH 

Advantages  of  America    .        .        .         .                 .         .  114 

WATTERSON,  HENRY  ^ 

Puritan  and  Cavalier 36 

WEBSTER,  DANIEL 

True  Eloquence 45 

Peace  at  Bunker  Hill       . 50 

The  Statesmen  of  South  Carolina    .         .         .         .         .  57 

Liberty  and  Union  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  113 


PUB.  SPEAK.- 


INDEX   OF   EXERCISES 


Abdominal  muscles,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8  (p.  13) ; 

9  (p.  14). 
Articulation,  13  (p.  17);   16  (p.  21);  17, 

18,  19,  20  (p.  22) ;   73,  74  (p.  131). 
Averse  hand,  77,  78,  81  (p.  137). 
Breathing,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8  (p.  13) ;   9  (p.  14) ; 

25  (P-  35) ;   27,  28  (p.  38). 

Chest,  26  (p.  35) ;  27,  28  (p.  38) ;  4,  5,  6, 

7,  8  (p.  13) ;  9  (P-  14)  J  29,  30  (p.  40)- 
Clasped  hands,  79  (p.  137). 
Clenched  hand,  50,  51,  52,   53,    54,  55 

(p.  100);  80  (p.  137). 
Clearness  of  voice,  10,  n  (p.  16) ;   12,  13 

(p.  17);   19  (p.  22). 
Diaphragm,  4,   5,  6,    7,    8    (p.    13);    9 

(p.  14);   25  (p.  35). 
Elbows,    22    (p.    25) ;    24    (p.    31) ;    26 

(P-  35) ;   27,  28  (p.  38) ;  29,  30  (p.  40). 
Flexibility  of  voice,  35  (p.  51).     See  also 

Melody. 

Force,  39,  40  (p.  70) ;  46,  47  (p.  94). 
Fingers,  15  (p.  21);   21,  22   (p.  25);   26 

(P- 35);  27,  28  (p.  38);   29,  30  (p.  40). 
Grace,  of  arm  and  hand,  71  (p.  128) ;    72 

(p.  129);    84,  85  (p.  142);    of  entire 

body,  71  (p.  128);  83  (p.  138). 
Index  hand,  36,  37,  38  (p.  66) ;  80  (p.  137). 
Inflection,    35    (p.    51);     61    (p.    108) ; 

62,  63,  64  (p.  109);   65  (p.  in);    75, 

76  (p.  132). 
Jaw,  19  (p.  22). 
Lips,  17  —  First  line  and  a  half,  reading 

across,  18,  19,  20  (p.  22). 
Lungs,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8  (p.  13) ;   9  (p.  14)  ; 

26  (p.  35);   27,  28  (p.  38)- 

Melody  of  speech,  63,  64  (p.  109) ;   65 
(p.  in) ;  69,  70  (p.  128) ;  75  (p.  132). 


Monotone,  75  (p.  132). 

Open  hand,  41,  42,  43,  44,  45  (p.  79) ;  80 

(P-  137). 
Palate,    17  —  Last   four  parts,   reading 

across  (c,  g,  y,  ng),  18,  20  (p.  22). 
Pitch,  34,  35   (p.  51);   61   (p.  108) ;   62, 

63,  64  (p.  109). 
Placing  voice,   10,   11    (p.    16);    12,   13 

(p.  17). 
Position  on  platform,  i,  2,  3  (p.  9);   4 

(p.  13);    22  (p.  25);   31   (p.  46);   32, 

33    (p.  47);     37,  38  (p.  66);    56,  57 

(p.  105);   58,  59,  60  (p.  106). 
Quantity,  86  (p.  142). 
Reflex  hand,  81  (p.  137). 
Relaxing    exercises,    wrist,    hand,    and 

fingers,  14  (p.  21);    21    (p.    25);     26 

(p.  35);    27,    28   (p.  38);    fingers,  15 

(p.  21);  jaw,  19  (p.  22). 
Semitone,  75  (p.  132). 
Shoulder,  22    (p.  25);    23    (p.    30);    24 

(p.  31);    26  (p.  35);    27,   28   (p.  38); 

29,  30  (p.  40). 

Stress,  46  (p.  94);   48,  49  (p.  97). 
Strength   of  voice,  n    (p.    16) ;    12,  13 

(p.  17);  65  (p.  in). 
Stroke  of  gesture,  determining  its  time, 

54  (with  any  gesture)  (p.  100). 
Tongue,  16  (p.  21);   17   (c,  g,  y,  ng),  iS 

(p.  22);    20  (p.  22). 
Vitalizing  exercises,  21,  22  (p.  25);    15 

(p.  21);    26   (p.  35);    27,   28  (p.  38); 

29,  30  (p.  40)- 
Wrist,  14    (p.  21);    21,  22   (p.  25);    23 

(p.  30);    24  (p.  31);    26  (p.  35);    27, 

28  (p.  38) ;    29,  30  (p.  40) ;    36,  37,  38 

(p.  66);  66  (p.  in). 


178 


GENERAL    INDEX 


Abdominal  muscles,  function  of  in  breath- 
ing, 12. 

Accent,  definition  of,  24;  primary,  sec- 
ondary, and  tertiary,  24;  changed  to 
show  contrast,  29;  different  in  same 
words  when  used  as  different  parts  of 
speech,  29. 

Action,  lines  of,  on  the  platform,  82. 

Address,  terms  of,  their  inflection,  109; 
gesture  for,  113. 

Addressing  the  chairman,  80. 

Admonition,  gesture  in,  135. 

Adoration,  gesture  for,  134;  quantity 
for,  140. 

Affections,  seat  of  in  the  chest,  136. 

Aggression,  position  for,  104. 

Agony,  gesture  in,  137. 

Alarm,  pitch  for,  49;  rate  for,  52. 

Amazement,  pitch  for,  49 ;  rate  for,  53 ; 
position  for,  103 ;  gesture  for,  135. 

Anger,  gesture  for,  99;  quantity  for, 
140. 

Angle,  between  the  feet  in  speaking  posi- 
tions, 7 ;  of  forearm  and  hand  in  open 
hand  gesture,  75  ;  of  hand  in  gesture,  79. 

Anguish,  gesture  for,  134. 

Appeal,  position  for,  101 ;  quantity  for, 
140. 

Arm,  bent  at  elbow  and  wrist  in  gesture, 
64 ;  path  of  in  gesture,  63-64. 

Articulation,  18. 

Attention,  lack  of  in  audience,  18. 

Auditorium,  size  of,  effect  on  force  needed 
in  speaking,  7 1 ;  ventilation,  its  effect 
on  force  needed,  7 1 . 

Averse  gesture,  study  in,  103. 

Averse  hand  in  gesture,  134. 

Aversion,  gesture  for,  135. 

Awe,  pitch  for,  49 ;  rate  for,  53  ;  appro- 
priate force  for,  103 ;  monotone  in, 
130;  quality  of  voice  for,  148. 


B 


Base,  getting  it  wide  enough  for  gestures, 

81. 
Beginning  of  speech,  how  to  deliver  the, 

80. 

Boldness,  position  for,  103. 
Bow,  at  the  beginning  of  a  speech,  80; 

at  the  end  of  a  speech,  82. 
Breathing,    general   method    of,    10-13  > 

test  of,  12 ;  action  of  diaphragm  in,  n  ; 

action  of  abdominal  muscles  in,   12; 

action  of  ribs  in,  12. 


Cadence,  faults,  125-126. 

Calling  effect  in  speaking,  42;  proper 
quantity  for,  140. 

Changing  position,  method  for,  7-9. 

Characters,  method  of  securing  imperson- 
ation of,  157. 

Chest,  position  of  in  breathing,  13 ;  seat 
of  certain  sentiments,  135. 

Clasped  hand,  gesture  of,  133;  senti- 
ments expressed  by,  134. 

Clauses,  pauses  in  case  of,  58 ;  made  more 
emphatic  by  falling  inflection,  1 10. 

Clenched  hand,  gesture  of,  98;  senti- 
ments expressed  by,  99. 

Cognates,  method  of  pronouncing  when 
in  conjunction,  27. 

Combination  methods  in  speaking,  156. 

Commands,  their  inflection,  1 1 1 ;  ges- 
ture in,  113;  quantity  for,  140. 

Committed  speech,  advantages  and  dis- 
advantages of,  153. 

Committing  a  speech,  best  methods  of, 
168. 

Compass  of  voice,  controls  melody,  125; 
determines  pitch,  48. 

Completed  mental  states,  how  shown, 
107;  special  cases  of,  iio-m. 


179 


i8o 


GENERAL    INDEX 


Compound    stress,    92 ;     sentiments   for 

and  method  of  obtaining,  93. 
Concentration,  gesture  in,  137. 
Conciliation,  gesture  in,  113. 
Conscience,  seat  of  in  the  chest,  136. 
Consonants,  long  and  short,  139. 
Contempt,  quantity  for,  140 ;   quality  of 

voice  in,  146. 
Courage,  pitch  for,  49 ;  position  for,  103  ; 

quantity  for,  140;   quality  of  voice  for, 

144. 
Crossings  on  the  stage,  rules  for,  161. 


Defiance,  pitch  for,  49 ;  gesture  for,  99  ; 
position  for,  103. 

Delivery,  first  steps  in,  41. 

Denial,  gesture  in,  135. 

Description,  position  for,  101 ;  gesture 
for,  113;  quantity  for,  140. 

Despair,  gesture  in,  137. 

Determination,  gesture  in,  114. 

Devotion,  pitch  for,  49;  rate  for,  53; 
monotone  in,  130. 

Diaphragm,  function  of,  in  breathing,  n. 

Dictionary,  use  of,  23.  (See  also  Web- 
ster.) 

Dignity,  oratorical,  position  for,  101,  103. 

Distinctness  in  speaking,  19. 

Dizziness,  resultant  from  breathing 
exercises,  14. 

Don't's,  for  public  speakers,  82. 

Doubt,  inflection  appropriate  to,  108; 
gesture  in,  114. 

Drawling,  its  cause  and  cure,  141. 

Dread,  pitch  for,  49 ;  rate  for,  53 ;  posi- 
tion for,  103  ;  monotone  in,  130. 


E 


Earnestness,  pitch  for,  49;  position 
for,  101. 

Emotional  nature,  represented  by  chest, 
136. 

Emotional  preparation  for  gesture,  81. 

Emphasis,  general  treatment,  32-40; 
similarity  to  accent,  32 ;  degrees  of, 
32 ;  Greek  origin  of  word,  32 ;  in 
sentences  of  more  than  one  idea,  33 ; 
use  with  new  ideas,  33  ;  use  in  contrast 
36-37;  use  in  implied  contrast,  39; 
use  in  climax,  39. 


Emphatic,  the,  gesture  for,  114. 

End  of  the  sentence,  inflection  where  the 
thought  is  complete,  no. 

Entrances  on  the  stage,  163. 

Entreaty,  position  for,  101 ;  gesture  for, 
134- 

Excitement,  rate  for,  52. 

Exclamations,  their  inflection,  in. 

Exits  on  the  stage,  163. 

Expiration,  process  of »  12;  caution  con- 
cerning, 14. 

Extempore  programs,  subjects  for,  172. 

Extempore  speaking,  advantages  of,  154 ; 
difficulties  of,  155. 

Extreme  emotions,  long  slides  for,  131. 

Eyes,  kept  on  the  audience,  42. 


Faults,  in  making  the  index  hand,  64  ; 
common,  in  making  the  open  hand, 
76;  in  making  the  clenched  hand, 
97- 

Fear,  appropriate  force  for,  67 ;  position 
for,  103  ;  gesture  for,  135. 

Feebleness,  appropriate  force  for,  67. 

Final  stress,  92 ;  sentiments  for  and 
method  of  obtaining,  93. 

Force,  how  to  apply  it,  67  ;  also,  10-13  ; 
applied  gently,  67 ;  applied  suddenly, 
67-69 ;  adjustable  to  place  of  speak- 
ing, 71 ;  individual,  of  speaker,  72; 
sentiments  appropriate  to  gentle 
force,  72;  sentiments  for  strong  force, 
72 ;  method  of  applying  as  related  to 
stress,  149;  method  of  applying  as 
related  to  rate  of  utterance,  150; 
degree  of  as  related  to  rate  of  utter- 
ance, 150. 

Fright,  quantity  appropriate  to,  140. 


Gayety,  pitch  for,  49;  rate  for,  52. 

Gesture,  beginnings  of,  62 ;  why  study, 
62 ;  index  hand,  62-63 ;  parts  of  a 
gesture,  63 ;  preparation  for,  63 ; 
finish  of,  64 ;  return  of,  64 ;  bent  arm 
in,  64;  straight  arm  in,  64;  free  wrist 
in,  64;  the  open  hand,  75-79;  pur- 
poses- ;U§e.d  for  with  palm  down,  75 ; 
purposes  used  for  with  palm  up,  76; 
base  for,  81 ;  too  sudden,  81 ;  the 


GENERAL   INDEX 


iSl 


clenched  hand,  99;   planes  of  gesture,  | 
112;    sentiments  appropriate  to  vari- 
ous zones,  112-114. 

Gladness,  appropriate  force  for,  70. 

Gloom,  gesture  for,  114. 

Grammatical  pause,  44. 

Grandeur,  monotone  in,  130. 

Grouping,  on  the  stage,  162. 

H 

Hands,  in  pockets,  82;  behind  the 
speaker,  82 ;  clenched  hand  in  speech, 
98 ;  open  hand,  75-79 ;  the  index  hand, 
62 ;  clasped,  133 ;  averse,  134 ;  reflex, 
136;  wrung,  134. 

Hate,  gesture  for,  99,  114. 

Heroic  attitude,  103. 

Honor,  seat  of  in  the  chest,  136. 

Horror,  pitch  for,  49;  gesture  for,  135. 

Hygiene,  in  training  for  oratorical  con- 
tests, 170-171. 


Impassioned  utterance,  position  in,  103. 
Incomplete  mental  states,   how  shown, 

107  ;   special  cases,  107-108. 
Index  gesture,  62 ;    the  animated  index, 

63  ;  the  directing  index,  64. 
Individual  pitch,  49. 
Inflection    (called   slide   of   the   voice), 

89;   related  to  stress,  150;    related  to 

melody,  150. 

Influence  of  oratorical  models,  166. 
Inspiration,    process    of,     1 1 ;     caution 

concerning,  14. 
Intermittent  stress,  92 ;    how  to  obtain 

and  sentiments  appropriate  to,  96. 
Interrelation  of  elements  of  expression, 

149. 
Interrupted    quotation,    inflections   for, 

115. 

J 

Johnson,  Dr.,  quoted  on  styles  of  speak- 
ing, 28. 

Joy,  pitch  for,  49;  rate  for,  52;  appro- 
priate plane  of  gesture  for,  112  ;  quan- 
tity for,  140. 


Kleiser,  Grenville,  quoted  on  pause,  45. 


Laughter,  pitch  for,  49;  quantity  for, 
140. 

Leah  Klcskna,  scene  from,  104. 

Loathing,  gesture  in,  135. 

Lofty  thought,  position  for,  103 ;  quan- 
tity for,  140. 

Logical  faults  in  speech  melody,  123-126. 

Logical  pause,  44. 

Loudness  in  speaking,  41. 

M 

Median  stress,  92;  how  to  obtain  and 
sentiments  appropriate  to,  95. 

Melody  of  speech,  no  adequate  way  of 
representing  it,  note  83;  not  arbi- 
trary, note  84;  general  treatment, 
115;  thought  governs,  117;  general 
law  for,  118;  faults  in,  123;  range, 
usually  too  narrow,  124;  too  sudden 
drop  at  the  end  of  the  sentence,  125; 
compass  of  voice  controls,  125  ;  sources 
of  power  in,  130 ;  as  related  to  inflec- 
tion, 150. 

Mental  nature,  represented  by  head,  136. 

Mills,  Dr.,  quoted  on  voice  production, 
14. 

Mirror,  practice  before,  42. 

Mispronunciation,  feeling  *  of  audience 
upon  hearing,  18. 

Monotone,  use  of,  130. 

Monsieur  Beaucaire,  scene  from,  104. 

Muscles,  training  of  for  speech,  19. 

N 

Narration,    appropriate    force    for,    70; 

position  for,   101 ;    gestures  for,  113; 

quantity  for,  140;    eyes  in,  159. 
Notes,  use  in  speech  making,  154;  how 

to  take  for  a  speech,  166. 


Oratorical  contests,  training  for,  168. 
Overpersonation,  warning  against,  159. 
Overtraining,  for  oratorical  contests,  170. 


Paragraphs,  how  to  show  them  in  de- 
livery, 81. 


182 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Pathos,  secured  by  the  semitone,  124. 

Patriotism,  appropriate  force  for,  70, 
gesture  for,  112;  seat  of  in  the  chest, 
136;  quantity  for,  140. 

Pause,  general  treatment  of,  43  ;  depend- 
ent upon  thinking,  43  ;  ideas  in  pause 
likened  to  stereopticon  views,  43 ; 
breath  in,  44 ;  idea  groups,  44 ;  logical 
and  grammatical,  44 ;  in  case  of  intro- 
ductory that  and  other  words,  44 ;  gen- 
eral law  for,  44 ;  in  a  series  of  words, 
55 ;  in  clauses,  55 ;  in  unusual  gram- 
matical and  rhetorical  construction, 
56 ;  when  words  are  omitted,  56 ;  in 
case  of  words  out  of  their  natural  order, 
56 ;  appositives  causing,  60 ;  parenthet- 
ical expressions,  60;  in  case  of  direct 
quotation,  60;  in  case  of  words  used 
independently,  58-59;  for  impressive- 
ness,  59 ;  as  related  to  rate  of  utterance, 
149. 

Phrases,  in  a  series,  made  more  emphatic 
by  falling  inflection,  no. 

Pitch,  general  treatment  of,  48;  degree 
of  pitch,  48;  lines  of,  not  distinctly 
drawn,  48 ;  high,  middle,  and  low,  48 ; 
sentiments  for  high,  middle,  and  low, 
49 ;  the  step  in  pitch,  83 ;  the  slide  in 
pitch,  89,  107,  no;  as  related  to  rate 
of  utterance,  149. 

Pity,  semitone  used  in,  130. 

Planes  of  gesture,  112. 

Platform,  how  to  retire  from,  82 ;  sitting 
position  on,  80;  position  upon  while 
speaking,  7,  42,  80,  81,  82. 

Pointing,  the  index  hand,  62 ;  the  open 
hand,  75. 

Position,  usual  on  the  platform,  7-9; 
second  nature,  42  ;  when  sitting  on  the 
platform,  80;  at  the  beginning  of  a 
speech,  81 ;  its  significance,  101  ; 
studies  in,  101 ;  position  of  characters 
in  impersonation,  158;  on  the  stage 
during  a  play,  160. 

Power  in  speech  melody,  sources  of, 
130. 

Practice,  amount  of,  daily,  16. 

Prayer,  clasped  hands  in,  134. 

Pronunciation,  of  single  words,  18,  23; 
of  words  in  sentences,  27. 

Punching,  to  be  avoided  in  gestures, 
64. 

Purpose,  in  oratorical  writing,  165. 


Quality  of  voice  (called  tone  color),  143  ; 
related  to  element  of  time,  150. 

Quantity,  general  treatment,  139 ;  appro- 
priate for  different  sentiments,  140; 
related  to  rate  of  utterance,  149. 

Questions,  their  inflection,  109,  112. 

Quotations,  inflections  for,  115;  pause 
for,  58. 

R 

Radical  stress,  92. 

Rate  of  utterance,  41,  52 ;  rapid,  medium, 
and  slow,  52;  sentiments  for  rapid, 
medium,  and  slow  rate,  52-54;  at  the 
beginning  of  a  speech,  81 ;  number  of 
words  per  minute,  41,  81 ;  as  related 
to  pitch,  149;  related  to  pause,  149; 
related  to  quantity,  149;  related  to 
method  of  applying  force,  150;  re- 
lated to  degree  of  force,  150. 

Reading  a  speech,  method  of,  152. 

Reciting,  general  observations  on,  157. 

Recovery,  in  gesture,  64,  78. 

Reflection,  gesture  for,  137. 

Reflex  hand,  in  gesture,  136. 

Remorse,  gesture  for,  134. 

Reproof,  gesture  for,  135. 

Repulsion,  gesture  for,  135. 

Retiring  from  the  platform,  82. 

Revenge,  gesture  for,  99,  114;  quality 
of  voice  for,  146. 

Reverence,  pitch  for,  49;  rate  for,  53; 
force  for,  67 ;  quantity  for,  140 ;  qual- 
ity of  voice  for,  144. 

Revising  oration,  167. 

Ribs,  action  of,  in  breathing,  13. 


Sadness,  appropriate  force  for,  67 ;  semi- 
tone aids  in  securing,  124. 

Scorn,  quality  of  voice  for,  146. 

Self-respect,  seat  of  in  the  chest,  136. 

Semitone,  appropriate  for  sadness,  130. 

Series  of  words,  pauses  in,  55 ;  how  made 
emphatic,  in. 

Shape,  of  auditorium,  effect  on  speaking, 
71.  . 

Significance~bf  position,  101. 

Sitting  position  on  the  platform,  80. 

Slide,  the,  in  pitch,  90 ;  rising  slide,  89 ; 


GENERA^   INDEX 


183 


falling    slide,    90;     special    cases   of 

rising  slide,  107-108;    special  cases  of 

falling  slide,  1 10-1 1 1 ;   combination  of 

rising    and    falling,    115;     unusually 

long,  131. 
Solemnity,  pitch  for,  49;    rate  for,  53; 

monotone  in,  130. 
Solicitation,  position  for,  101. 
Song  notes,  not  used  in  speech,  123. 
Sorrow,  quantity  in,  140. 
Speaking  from  notes,  method  of,  154. 
Speech   notes,    different   from   notes   of 

song,  123. 

Spiritual,  the,  appropriate  plane  of  ges- 
ture for,  112. 
Stage  department,  general  observations 

on,  1 60. 

Step,  the,  in  pitch,  83. 
Strength,  position  for,  103. 
Stress,  general  treatment  of,  92 ;   related 

to    method    of    applying    force,    149; 

related  to  inflection,  150. 
Styles    of    speaking,    conversation   and 

public  speaking  different,  28;   general 

treatment,  152. 
Subjects  for  orations,  165. 
Sublimity,  pitch  for,  49;    monotone  in, 

130;     quantity   in,    140;     quality   of 

voice  for,  148. 

Suggestion,  art  of,  in  reciting,  158. 
Supplication,  gesture  for,  134. 
Surprise,     inflection      appropriate      to, 

108. 
Syllables,  long  and  short,  139 ;   effect  in 

producing  moods,  140. 


Terms,  of  address,  their  inflection,  108 ; 

those  used  on  the  stage,  165. 
Terror,  position  for,  104;    monotone  in, 

130;     gesture    for,    135;     quality    of 

voice  for,  148. 


Thorough  stress,  92 ;  how  to  obtain  and 
sentiments  appropriate  to,  95. 

Throat,  tickling  of,  16;  prescription  for 
relaxed  throat,  16. 

Time,  element  of  as  related  to  quality  of 
voice,  150. 

Tone  color,  general  treatment  of,  143. 

Training  for  oratorical  contests,  168. 

Treachery,  of  rules,  108. 

Triumph,  appropriate  zone  of  gesture  for, 


Veneration,  pitch  for,  49;  rate  for,  53. 

Vocal  apparatus,  general  treatment, 
10 ;  arranges  itself,  151. 

Vocal  illusions,  produced  by  the  actor, 
161. 

Vocatives,  their  inflection,  108. 

Vocule,  method  of  executing,  27. 

Voice,  beauty  of,  15 ;  clarity  of,  15 ; 
huskiness  of,  15 ;  caution  against 
loudness  of,  15;  dentality  of,  15; 
nasality  of,  15;  tickling  in  the  throat, 
16;  relaxed  throat,  16;  compass  of, 
48;  compass  controls  melody,  124; 
tone  color  of,  143. 

Vowels,  configuration  for,  19;  long  and 
short,  139. 

W 

Waves,  speech,  115-116. 

Webster's      International      Dictionary, 

quoted  on  styles  of  speaking,  28. 
Weight,  distribution  of,  7,  82. 
Welcome,  gesture  for,  113. 
Words,  omitted  causing  pause,  56;    out 

of  natural   order,    56;    only  part   of 

what  we  say,  62 ;   how  to  make  series 

emphatic,  no. 
Wrist,  free,  in  gesture,  64. 
Writing  an  oration,  general  observation 

on,  165. 
Wrung  hands,  134. 


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